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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. face — to point toward
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. pop — soda
  14. scale — size or range
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. pop — music
  17. bound — tied together
  18. scale — in music
  19. face — part of the head
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. bore — to drill

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