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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. track — to keep track
  6. track — a song
  7. face — part of the head
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. face — to point toward
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cell — a phone
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. track — a path
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. snap — to click
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bowl — a football final

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