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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 120 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. fall — to drop
  3. face — to confront
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — a phone
  6. rock — music
  7. swing — in golf
  8. prune — to trim
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — to play on
  11. face — to point toward
  12. fall — the season
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. fall — to drop
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. rock — a stone
  17. march — the month
  18. cell — in biology
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. march — the month
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. march — music

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