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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. face — to confront
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. spring — the season
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to drill
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. sharp — clever
  13. face — to point toward
  14. bore — to tire
  15. spring — a coil
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. spring — of water

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