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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. suit — in cards
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. tear — to rip
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. content — the amount
  10. suit — to fit
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. field — farmland
  13. tear — from crying
  14. field — for sport
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — happy
  17. suit — clothes
  18. face — to point toward
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. field — a subject
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. face — part of the head
  23. tear — from crying
  24. ruler — for measuring

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