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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. club — for dancing
  3. field — farmland
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bank — of a river
  6. bass — low music
  7. field — a subject
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — for money
  11. ground — crushed
  12. club — for golf
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bass — the fish
  15. face — part of the head
  16. field — for sport
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. tube — a container
  20. face — to point toward
  21. club — a group
  22. fork — in a road
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — a position

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