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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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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stand — to bear
  4. chest — of your body
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. wake — a trail
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. face — part of the head
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. track — to keep track
  13. face — to point toward
  14. lie — to recline
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. track — a path
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. pass — a permit
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. track — a song
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. chest — a box

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