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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. face — part of the head
  5. lie — to recline
  6. cell — a phone
  7. rule — government
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bear — the animal
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rule — a law
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. face — to point toward
  24. cell — in biology

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