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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. spell — magic
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rock — a stone
  6. march — the month
  7. rock — music
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. foot — a measure
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. march — the month
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. march — music
  14. face — part of the head
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. wake — a trail
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. spell — a short time
  23. face — to point toward
  24. spell — letters

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