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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. face — to confront
  3. prune — to trim
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. ground — a position
  7. band — a ring
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. prune — to trim
  10. band — a music group
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. ground — crushed
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. date — the fruit
  18. face — part of the head
  19. sharp — clever
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. ground — the earth
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. deal — to handle
  24. face — to point toward

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