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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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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: face · wound · staff · spring · squash · season · pitcher · rule

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. rule — a law
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. face — part of the head
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. staff — employees
  9. squash — to crush
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. spring — the season
  13. rule — government
  14. season — of the year
  15. spring — a coil
  16. staff — employees
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. season — in sport
  20. squash — the sport
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. spring — of water
  23. face — to point toward
  24. staff — a stick

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