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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. spring — a coil
  3. face — to confront
  4. rock — music
  5. face — part of the head
  6. spell — a short time
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. ground — the earth
  9. spell — magic
  10. face — to point toward
  11. spell — letters
  12. band — a ring
  13. spring — of water
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. track — a path
  16. spring — the season
  17. band — a music group
  18. track — to keep track
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. track — a song
  21. ground — a position
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. ground — crushed

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