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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. pitch — completely
  7. march — the month
  8. cell — a phone
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. face — to point toward
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. court — for sport
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cell — in biology
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. face — part of the head
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. court — of law
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. court — of a king

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