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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bound — tied together
  5. face — part of the head
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bound — obliged
  8. band — a ring
  9. stock — shares
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bound — certain
  12. tube — the underground
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. band — a music group
  16. stock — goods
  17. saw — the tool
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. face — to point toward
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. tube — a container

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