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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. lie — to recline
  3. cold — not warm
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. tear — to rip
  6. branch — a division
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. face — part of the head
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stock — goods
  16. key — in music
  17. face — to point toward
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. key — the most important part
  21. key — for a lock
  22. stock — shares
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. cold — an illness

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