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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. wake — a trail
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of law
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. tube — a container
  9. court — of a king
  10. fork — in a road
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. ground — the earth
  13. face — to point toward
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — crushed
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. bulb — for light
  19. face — part of the head
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bulb — for light
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — before a funeral

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