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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. tear — from crying
  4. current — happening now
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. tear — from crying
  9. current — electric
  10. rule — a law
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. row — a line
  13. current — of water
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — government
  19. mark — a trace
  20. rush — hurry
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — to point toward
  23. mark — a grade
  24. row — to paddle

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