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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. face — to confront
  3. face — to point toward
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — music
  6. row — a line
  7. ground — a position
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. lean — thin
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. spell — a short time
  12. row — to paddle
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lie — to recline
  17. face — part of the head
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — magic
  20. ground — crushed
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. ground — the earth
  23. swing — in golf
  24. row — a quarrel

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