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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. suit — clothes
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. tear — from crying
  5. suit — to fit
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. tear — from crying
  8. face — to point toward
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. suit — in cards
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wind — moving air
  13. row — to paddle
  14. wind — moving air
  15. race — a contest
  16. stock — goods
  17. face — part of the head
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. race — the arms race
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. row — a line
  22. stock — shares
  23. race — humankind
  24. dip — to sink

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