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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 124 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. pop — to visit
  3. wound — an injury
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — soda
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wound — an injury
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. tear — to rip
  12. face — to point toward
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. drill — army training
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. face — part of the head
  17. drill — a practice
  18. foot — a measure
  19. mine — for digging
  20. drill — the tool
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. tear — from crying

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