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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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. tube — a container
  4. pop — music
  5. swing — in golf
  6. pop — to visit
  7. current — happening now
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. pop — soda
  12. current — electric
  13. swing — music
  14. current — of water
  15. land — to come down
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. land — a country
  18. swing — to play on
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. face — to point toward
  21. tube — the underground
  22. cell — in biology
  23. face — part of the head
  24. cell — a phone

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