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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 120 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. face — to confront
  3. hand — in cards
  4. face — to point toward
  5. tear — from crying
  6. drill — army training
  7. last — final
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. tear — to rip
  10. hand — help
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. drill — the tool
  13. face — part of the head
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitch — completely
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. last — finally
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. tear — from crying
  20. last — to go on
  21. rock — music
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. drill — a practice
  24. rock — a 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