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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. face — to point toward
  3. charge — electricity
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. charge — a price
  6. charge — in control
  7. scale — in music
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. spring — the season
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. face — to confront
  13. scale — size or range
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. face — part of the head
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. spring — a coil
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. spring — of water
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. trunk — of a tree

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