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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  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. spring — a coil
  2. sharp — clever
  3. rest — a break
  4. tear — from crying
  5. land — to come down
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. rock — music
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — what's left
  11. face — part of the head
  12. land — ground
  13. face — to point toward
  14. rock — a stone
  15. spring — of water
  16. land — a country
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. spring — the season
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. sharp — exactly
  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