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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. row — to paddle
  4. rock — music
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. plane — a tool
  8. fall — to drop
  9. spring — of water
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. spring — the season
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. fall — to drop
  14. face — to point toward
  15. fall — the season
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. spring — a coil
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. face — to confront
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — a line
  23. rock — a stone
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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