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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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 point toward
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. face — part of the head
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. vault — a safe
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. last — to go on
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. pound — a weight
  10. last — finally
  11. clip — a video
  12. fall — to drop
  13. scale — in music
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. fall — to drop
  18. last — final
  19. fall — the season
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. face — to confront
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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