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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 120 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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. face — to confront
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — after costs
  6. face — to point toward
  7. pitch — completely
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — a series
  11. face — part of the head
  12. net — in sport
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. fork — in a road
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. rash — hasty
  24. straw — dry grass

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