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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. saw — the tool
  3. sharp — clever
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. spring — of water
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. root — the cause
  8. pass — a permit
  9. root — of a word
  10. face — part of the head
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. spring — the season
  14. row — to paddle
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. spring — a coil
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. saw — the tool
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. face — to confront
  22. root — of a plant
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. face — to point toward

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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