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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 124 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. rash — hasty
  3. current — electric
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. rash — a series
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. face — part of the head
  8. current — happening now
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. face — to point toward
  11. current — of water
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. march — the month
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. march — the month
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bark — to shout
  22. march — music
  23. shower — rain
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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