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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. face — to confront
  3. rash — a series
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. tear — from crying
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. swing — music
  10. club — for golf
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. swing — to play on
  13. scale — in music
  14. club — a group
  15. tube — a container
  16. rash — hasty
  17. face — to point toward
  18. scale — size or range
  19. swing — in golf
  20. club — for dancing
  21. sharp — clever
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. face — part of the head

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