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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. hand — help
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. face — to point toward
  6. chip — to eat
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. hand — in cards
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. chip — for betting
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. game — a match
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. dip — to sink
  23. face — part of the head
  24. game — wild animals

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