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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. wound — an injury
  5. spring — of water
  6. wound — an injury
  7. ball — a great time
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — a phone
  11. tube — the underground
  12. spring — a coil
  13. firm — decided
  14. face — to point toward
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. spring — the season
  17. firm — steady
  18. ball — a dance
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. face — part of the head
  22. firm — a company
  23. tube — a container
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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