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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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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. mate — a partner
  3. face — to point toward
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. mate — a friend
  6. vault — a safe
  7. chip — to eat
  8. shower — to wash
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. clip — a video
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. prune — to trim
  14. craft — boats
  15. prune — to trim
  16. mate — to breed
  17. clip — to cut
  18. craft — a skill
  19. clip — for paper
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — for betting
  23. face — part of the head
  24. shower — rain

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