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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. suit — clothes
  4. face — to confront
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bore — to drill
  7. clip — for paper
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. clip — to cut
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. suit — in cards
  14. bore — to tire
  15. suit — to fit
  16. pound — a weight
  17. rock — music
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. rock — a stone
  22. face — part of the head
  23. clip — a video
  24. bore — gave birth

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