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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. face — to point toward
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — to breed
  5. tear — from crying
  6. race — humankind
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to confront
  9. tear — from crying
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. race — the arms race
  12. tear — to rip
  13. pop — soda
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. mate — a partner
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. pop — music
  19. pop — to visit
  20. sharp — clever
  21. race — a contest
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — for digging

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