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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. spring — a coil
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rest — a break
  5. spring — the season
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. face — part of the head
  12. face — to point toward
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — what's left
  15. tear — to rip
  16. rock — music
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bound — certain
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. spring — of water
  23. bark — to shout
  24. hand — help

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