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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 120 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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. saw — the tool
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. saw — the tool
  8. deal — to handle
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cell — a phone
  15. tear — from crying
  16. game — a match
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. face — part of the head
  21. cell — in biology
  22. face — to point toward
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. straw — a straw man

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