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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. mate — a partner
  3. drill — the tool
  4. march — the month
  5. drill — army training
  6. mate — a friend
  7. firm — steady
  8. firm — decided
  9. tear — to rip
  10. march — music
  11. swing — to play on
  12. march — the month
  13. mate — to breed
  14. drill — a practice
  15. tear — from crying
  16. swing — music
  17. tear — from crying
  18. swing — in golf
  19. face — part of the head
  20. firm — a company
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — a division
  24. face — to confront

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