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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. spring — a coil
  4. face — to confront
  5. spring — the season
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bark — to shout
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. fine — high quality
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — money
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. deal — to handle
  17. face — to point toward
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. spring — of water
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. capital — a city
  23. shower — rain
  24. fine — all right

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