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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. present — the time now
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. march — music
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. present — a gift
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. present — there
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. face — to point toward
  13. march — the month
  14. kid — to tease
  15. lean — to bend
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. tear — from crying
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. face — part of the head
  20. season — of the year
  21. march — the month
  22. kid — child
  23. season — in sport
  24. lean — thin

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