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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — a break
  4. capital — money
  5. shower — rain
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. capital — a city
  9. saw — the tool
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. face — to point toward
  13. drill — the tool
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. drill — a practice
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. saw — the tool
  18. face — part of the head
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. rest — what's left
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a music group
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. drill — army training

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