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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 116 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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. track — a path
  3. rash — hasty
  4. face — part of the head
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. face — to point toward
  7. track — to keep track
  8. rest — a break
  9. clip — a video
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. rash — a series
  14. tear — to rip
  15. clip — to cut
  16. tube — the underground
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rest — what's left
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. clip — for paper
  22. rest — what's left
  23. track — a song
  24. tear — from crying

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