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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. present — the time now
  3. object — to protest
  4. fall — the season
  5. ground — a position
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. ground — crushed
  9. face — part of the head
  10. fall — to drop
  11. object — an aim
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. fall — to drop
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. face — to point toward
  17. present — a gift
  18. foot — a measure
  19. object — a thing
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. present — there
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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