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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rock — a stone
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. rock — music
  6. rash — a series
  7. bat — the animal
  8. hand — help
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. face — part of the head
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. last — to go on
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. hand — in cards
  17. last — finally
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. face — to point toward
  21. last — final
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. rash — on the skin

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