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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 120 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. tear — from crying
  4. spring — of water
  5. season — of the year
  6. mark — a grade
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. root — of a word
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. season — in sport
  11. scale — in music
  12. spring — a coil
  13. face — part of the head
  14. mark — a trace
  15. root — of a plant
  16. tear — to rip
  17. scale — size or range
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. root — the cause
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. face — to confront
  23. spring — the season
  24. tear — from crying

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