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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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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. cold — an illness
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. face — to point toward
  5. mug — a cup
  6. craft — boats
  7. clip — to cut
  8. face — to confront
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pit — a hole
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. mug — a face
  14. pit — in a race
  15. craft — a skill
  16. mug — to rob
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. cold — the Cold War

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