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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. saw — the tool
  3. spring — a coil
  4. last — to go on
  5. lean — thin
  6. saw — the tool
  7. hand — help
  8. cue — a hint
  9. race — a contest
  10. lean — to bend
  11. race — humankind
  12. hand — in cards
  13. cue — for pool
  14. spring — of water
  15. face — part of the head
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. cue — a signal
  19. race — the arms race
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. face — to point toward
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. spring — the season

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