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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rule — government
  7. last — to go on
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. land — to come down
  11. tear — to rip
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. land — ground
  14. pitch — completely
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. tear — from crying
  17. last — final
  18. bore — to drill
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. face — to point toward
  21. land — a country
  22. face — part of the head
  23. last — finally
  24. tear — from crying

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