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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 116 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. face — to confront
  4. kick — in football
  5. wound — an injury
  6. scale — size or range
  7. land — ground
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. object — an aim
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. object — a thing
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. object — to protest
  15. face — to point toward
  16. scale — in music
  17. face — part of the head
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. chair — a leader
  21. land — a country
  22. land — to come down
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. scale — for weighing

Multiple-meaning words list

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

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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