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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. fall — the season
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to point toward
  6. key — the most important part
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. key — in music
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. court — of a king
  11. fall — to drop
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. key — for a lock
  14. band — a music group
  15. court — for sport
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a ring
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. capital — money
  20. fall — to drop
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. court — of law
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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