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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. bank — for money
  4. face — to confront
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to click
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. face — to point toward
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. pass — a permit
  16. fork — in a road
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — of a river
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. face — part of the head
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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