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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. shower — to wash
  3. face — to point toward
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. game — a match
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. wake — a trail
  8. tear — from crying
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. shower — rain
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bark — to shout
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. present — a gift
  19. present — the time now
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. face — part of the head
  22. pass — a permit
  23. present — there
  24. pass — to succeed

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