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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. stock — goods
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. club — a group
  7. band — a music group
  8. stock — shares
  9. face — part of the head
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — the underground
  12. key — for a lock
  13. cell — a phone
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. band — a ring
  16. face — to point toward
  17. key — the most important part
  18. tube — a container
  19. cell — in biology
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — for golf
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. key — in music

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