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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 124 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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468
Word bank
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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pit — a hole
  5. face — to confront
  6. bat — the animal
  7. cell — in biology
  8. face — part of the head
  9. pit — in a race
  10. spell — magic
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. land — ground
  15. land — to come down
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. spell — letters
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cell — a phone
  20. wound — an injury
  21. land — a country
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. spell — a short time
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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