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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pitch — completely
  4. track — to keep track
  5. stock — goods
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. face — to point toward
  8. tube — a container
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. stock — shares
  11. face — part of the head
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. track — a song
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. tube — the underground
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — to tease
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tear — to rip
  24. track — a path

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