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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. plane — a tool
  3. bank — for money
  4. march — music
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. tear — to rip
  9. swing — in golf
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. swing — to play on
  12. tear — from crying
  13. face — to point toward
  14. march — the month
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. bank — of a river
  19. bank — for money
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. march — the month
  22. swing — music
  23. face — part of the head
  24. plane — in geometry

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