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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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Word bank
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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: spring · pass · file · tear · scale · coach · face · pop

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. file — a line of people
  3. spring — a coil
  4. scale — in music
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. file — a document
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. spring — the season
  11. pop — to visit
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. tear — to rip
  15. pop — music
  16. pop — soda
  17. face — part of the head
  18. pass — a permit
  19. tear — from crying
  20. spring — of water
  21. face — to point toward
  22. file — a tool
  23. tear — from crying
  24. scale — size or range

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