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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. wound — an injury
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. snap — to click
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. rest — a break
  11. bat — the animal
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. face — to point toward
  14. dip — to sink
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. wound — an injury
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. court — for sport
  20. lie — to recline
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. court — of law
  23. face — part of the head
  24. court — of a king

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com