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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bore — to tire
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. march — music
  8. swing — in golf
  9. bore — to drill
  10. swing — to play on
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. face — part of the head
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. swing — music
  16. face — to point toward
  17. board — a committee
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. band — a music group
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. board — to get on
  24. board — a flat piece

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