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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. march — the month
  4. face — to confront
  5. season — of the year
  6. spring — the season
  7. season — in sport
  8. wake — a trail
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. spring — of water
  11. face — part of the head
  12. ground — crushed
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. march — the month
  15. ground — the earth
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. march — music
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. face — to point toward
  23. spring — a coil
  24. ground — a position

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