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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 116 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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. hand — in cards
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. face — to point toward
  5. sharp — clever
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. hand — help
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. face — part of the head
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. drill — a practice
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — the tool

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