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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. squash — to crush
  3. rush — hurry
  4. mine — for digging
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. spring — the season
  8. root — the cause
  9. face — part of the head
  10. spring — a coil
  11. root — of a plant
  12. lean — to bend
  13. root — of a word
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. squash — the sport
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. spring — of water
  19. pass — a permit
  20. face — to point toward
  21. lean — thin
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. pass — to spend time

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