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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. net — for catching
  3. root — of a word
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — to recline
  6. hand — in cards
  7. firm — steady
  8. bat — the animal
  9. present — there
  10. firm — decided
  11. net — after costs
  12. hand — help
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. root — the cause
  16. present — the time now
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. root — of a plant
  19. face — to point toward
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. present — a gift
  22. face — part of the head
  23. firm — a company
  24. net — 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