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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. pit — a hole
  3. can — a tin
  4. face — to point toward
  5. press — to push
  6. march — the month
  7. hand — in cards
  8. can — a tin
  9. march — the month
  10. shower — to wash
  11. scale — size or range
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. pit — in a race
  14. can — to be able to
  15. press — a publisher
  16. march — music
  17. hand — help
  18. scale — in music
  19. face — part of the head
  20. press — newspapers
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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