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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. chest — a box
  3. net — for catching
  4. pop — music
  5. march — music
  6. face — part of the head
  7. race — a contest
  8. pound — a weight
  9. race — humankind
  10. net — in sport
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — boats
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. chest — of your body
  17. march — the month
  18. net — after costs
  19. face — to point toward
  20. chest — of your body
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. pop — soda
  23. march — the month
  24. race — the arms race

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