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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. march — the month
  3. row — a line
  4. root — the cause
  5. root — of a plant
  6. bank — for money
  7. root — of a word
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. race — humankind
  10. row — to paddle
  11. march — music
  12. race — a contest
  13. spring — the season
  14. pass — a permit
  15. bank — of a river
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. march — the month
  18. bank — for money
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. spring — of water
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to point toward
  23. spring — a coil
  24. race — the arms race

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