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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. face — to point toward
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. drill — a practice
  5. face — to confront
  6. roll — a cake
  7. rock — a stone
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rock — music
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. drill — army training
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. drill — the tool
  17. rush — hurry
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — of water
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. face — part of the head
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. spring — the season
  24. roll — a list

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