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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 120 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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — part of the head
  3. snap — to click
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. face — to point toward
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rule — a law
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. rule — government
  15. perch — the fish
  16. pitch — completely
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. pound — a weight
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. foot — a measure
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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