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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. face — part of the head
  4. clip — for paper
  5. last — final
  6. last — finally
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. clip — a video
  11. pitch — completely
  12. face — to point toward
  13. last — to go on
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. clip — to cut
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. face — to confront

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