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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 116 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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. capital — a city
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mark — a grade
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. capital — money
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. cold — an illness
  13. tube — a container
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. tube — the underground
  18. mark — a trace
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. face — part of the head
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. face — to point toward

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