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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. face — to confront
  3. chest — of your body
  4. face — part of the head
  5. craft — boats
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. pass — a permit
  8. present — the time now
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — after costs
  12. spring — the season
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. present — there
  16. fork — in a road
  17. face — to point toward
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. present — a gift
  20. spring — a coil
  21. net — for catching
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. craft — a skill
  24. pass — to spend time

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