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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bass — the fish
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. tear — from crying
  5. fine — high quality
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. stem — to come from
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. fine — all right
  15. bass — low music
  16. present — a gift
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to point toward
  20. present — the time now
  21. mine — for digging
  22. present — there
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. lash — an eyelash

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