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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — to point toward
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. swing — music
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bore — to drill
  7. swing — in golf
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. content — happy
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bore — to tire
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. swing — to play on
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. face — part of the head
  16. wake — a trail
  17. content — the amount
  18. wake — to stop sleeping

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