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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. tear — from crying
  3. face — to confront
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. pitch — completely
  7. face — to point toward
  8. march — the month
  9. track — a song
  10. spell — a short time
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. track — a path
  13. tear — from crying
  14. spell — letters
  15. race — a contest
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. race — the arms race
  18. tear — to rip
  19. track — to keep track
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. spell — magic
  22. date — the fruit
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. race — humankind

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