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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. face — to confront
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — part of the head
  5. fork — in a road
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. rash — a series
  8. land — a country
  9. fall — the season
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. capital — money
  13. shower — rain
  14. plane — a tool
  15. land — to come down
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. rash — hasty
  21. capital — a city
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. shower — to wash
  24. land — ground

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