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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. face — part of the head
  4. pound — a weight
  5. drill — army training
  6. field — a subject
  7. drill — the tool
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. drill — a practice
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. field — for sport
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. field — farmland
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. face — to point toward

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