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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. face — to confront
  3. staff — a stick
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. current — of water
  8. current — electric
  9. march — the month
  10. roll — a cake
  11. tear — from crying
  12. march — the month
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. face — to point toward
  15. current — happening now
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. march — music
  18. cap — a hat
  19. staff — employees
  20. roll — a list
  21. cap — of ice
  22. cap — a lid
  23. face — part of the head
  24. roll — on a roll

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