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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. face — to confront
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. row — to paddle
  6. face — part of the head
  7. fork — in a road
  8. row — a line
  9. track — to keep track
  10. tube — the underground
  11. mine — for digging
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. face — to point toward
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. track — a song
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. file — a tool
  20. tube — a container
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. track — a path

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