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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to confront
  3. clip — to cut
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fine — all right
  7. march — the month
  8. clip — for paper
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — the fruit
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. stand — to bear
  17. face — to point toward
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. clip — a video
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. march — the month
  23. fine — high quality
  24. march — music

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