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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. face — to point toward
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. can — a tin
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. field — a subject
  11. rock — a stone
  12. can — a tin
  13. bear — the animal
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. face — to confront
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. can — to be able to
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. field — farmland
  20. lie — to recline
  21. bear — the animal
  22. field — for sport
  23. face — part of the head
  24. lie — an untruth

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