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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. swing — to play on
  3. band — a ring
  4. swing — in golf
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. rule — government
  9. tear — to rip
  10. band — a music group
  11. face — to point toward
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. face — part of the head
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. sharp — clever
  16. rule — a law
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. swing — music
  24. sharp — exactly

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