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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. land — ground
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. land — a country
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. mark — a trace
  8. tear — to rip
  9. face — to point toward
  10. wind — moving air
  11. squash — to crush
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. land — to come down
  17. wind — moving air
  18. deal — to handle
  19. face — part of the head
  20. mark — a grade
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pass — a permit
  23. squash — the sport
  24. deal — an agreement

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