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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. shower — to wash
  3. face — part of the head
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bound — tied together
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. shower — rain
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. squash — to crush
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. ground — the earth
  13. face — to point toward
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. craft — boats
  16. squash — the sport
  17. ground — a position
  18. craft — a skill
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bound — certain

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