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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. fine — high quality
  3. face — to point toward
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. rule — a law
  6. ground — a position
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. rule — government
  15. ground — crushed
  16. fine — all right
  17. face — part of the head
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. fork — in a road
  24. ground — the earth

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