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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. face — to confront
  3. fork — in a road
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. face — to point toward
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hand — help
  10. spell — a short time
  11. rest — a break
  12. race — the arms race
  13. hand — in cards
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. race — a contest
  16. spell — letters
  17. field — farmland
  18. face — part of the head
  19. race — humankind
  20. field — for sport
  21. rest — what's left
  22. spell — magic
  23. field — a subject
  24. fork — a garden tool

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