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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. wound — an injury
  3. face — to confront
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. chest — of your body
  8. season — of the year
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. chest — of your body
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lean — thin
  16. face — part of the head
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. pit — in a race
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pit — a hole
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. chest — a box
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. season — in sport

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