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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 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 sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. mine — for digging
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to click
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. ball — a great time
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — part of the head
  12. ball — a dance
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mine — belonging to me

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