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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. face — to confront
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. shower — rain
  9. plane — a tool
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. craft — a skill
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. cold — an illness
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. face — to point toward
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. shower — to wash
  20. craft — boats
  21. pass — a permit
  22. face — part of the head
  23. branch — a division
  24. game — a match

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