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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — part of the head
  5. pop — to visit
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mug — to rob
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. shower — rain
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mug — a cup
  14. pop — music
  15. bound — certain
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. shower — to wash
  18. pop — soda
  19. date — the fruit
  20. bound — tied together
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. mug — a face
  23. face — to point toward
  24. tear — to rip

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