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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. tear — from crying
  3. spring — the season
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. race — a contest
  6. face — to point toward
  7. pit — in a race
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. perch — the fish
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. face — part of the head
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. tear — from crying
  21. race — humankind
  22. tear — to rip
  23. race — the arms race
  24. pit — a hole

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