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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: face · lie · object · cell · wound · deal · dip · bat

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. dip — to sink
  3. face — to confront
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. object — a thing
  6. wound — an injury
  7. deal — to handle
  8. object — to protest
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cell — in biology
  11. lie — to recline
  12. object — an aim
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. face — part of the head
  17. bat — the animal
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. face — to point toward
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. cell — a phone

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