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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. bark — to shout
  4. face — to point toward
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. rest — what's left
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. shower — rain
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. rest — a break
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. fine — all right
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. rest — what's left
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. face — part of the head
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. fine — high quality

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