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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. spring — a coil
  6. hand — in cards
  7. face — to point toward
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. prune — to trim
  11. spring — of water
  12. net — for catching
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. face — to confront
  16. net — in sport
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. prune — to trim
  19. saw — the tool
  20. net — after costs
  21. saw — the tool
  22. hand — help
  23. spring — the season
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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