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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. last — finally
  3. face — to confront
  4. last — to go on
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. face — part of the head
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cell — a phone
  12. game — wild animals
  13. face — to point toward
  14. lie — to recline
  15. last — final
  16. chest — a box
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. cell — in biology
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. game — a match
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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