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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 116 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. march — the month
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. pop — soda
  5. march — the month
  6. pop — to visit
  7. perch — the fish
  8. face — part of the head
  9. capital — a city
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. track — a song
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pop — music
  15. track — to keep track
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. march — music
  18. capital — money
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. face — to point toward
  21. track — a path
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. calf — of the leg

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