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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. spring — of water
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. spring — a coil
  5. current — electric
  6. current — happening now
  7. spring — the season
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — a weight
  13. bore — to drill
  14. chair — a leader
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bore — to tire
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. current — of water
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. face — part of the head
  23. snap — to click
  24. face — to point toward

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