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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. club — for dancing
  3. face — to point toward
  4. rush — hurry
  5. spring — the season
  6. wind — moving air
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of law
  9. spring — of water
  10. club — for golf
  11. current — happening now
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. court — of a king
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. spring — a coil
  19. face — part of the head
  20. wind — moving air
  21. current — of water
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. current — electric
  24. club — a group

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