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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bark — to shout
  3. spring — the season
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. bass — low music
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — of water
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bass — the fish
  14. pass — a permit
  15. cap — a hat
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a lid
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. face — part of the head
  22. pitch — completely
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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