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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. spring — a coil
  3. track — a path
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — in a road
  7. face — to point toward
  8. band — a ring
  9. present — the time now
  10. cap — a lid
  11. track — a song
  12. cap — of ice
  13. track — to keep track
  14. spring — of water
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. present — a gift
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. present — there
  19. cap — a hat
  20. spring — the season
  21. band — a music group
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. face — part of the head

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