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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. spell — letters
  3. spring — of water
  4. hand — in cards
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. plane — a tool
  7. tear — from crying
  8. face — to confront
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. tear — to rip
  13. mine — for digging
  14. face — part of the head
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. spring — the season
  18. tear — from crying
  19. hand — help
  20. spell — magic
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spring — a coil

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