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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. wound — an injury
  3. spell — letters
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rash — hasty
  6. race — humankind
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to point toward
  9. fork — in a road
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — a contest
  12. track — to keep track
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. rash — a series
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. track — a path
  20. pass — a permit
  21. spell — magic
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. track — a song
  24. spell — a short 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