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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: face · march · pit · tear · firm · spring · bark · cell

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  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. spring — the season
  2. spring — a coil
  3. tear — to rip
  4. firm — steady
  5. face — part of the head
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. march — music
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. face — to confront
  11. firm — decided
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. pit — a hole
  14. firm — a company
  15. bark — to shout
  16. pit — in a race
  17. march — the month
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. tear — from crying
  20. face — to point toward
  21. spring — of water
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. march — the month
  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