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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — of water
  6. shower — to wash
  7. mine — for digging
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. face — part of the head
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. present — the time now
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. present — a gift
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. face — to point toward
  20. wax — to grow
  21. spring — the season
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. present — there

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