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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. face — to confront
  3. tear — to rip
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. prune — to trim
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pit — in a race
  9. shower — to wash
  10. pit — a hole
  11. face — part of the head
  12. march — the month
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. tear — from crying
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. board — to get on
  17. march — music
  18. face — to point toward
  19. board — a committee
  20. shower — rain
  21. march — the month
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. tear — from crying
  24. prune — to trim

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