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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. face — to point toward
  5. mate — to breed
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mate — a partner
  10. face — part of the head
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pit — in a race
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. band — a music group
  17. bark — to shout
  18. mate — a friend
  19. degree — an amount
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pit — a hole
  22. band — a ring
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bark — of a tree

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