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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. prune — to trim
  3. clip — a video
  4. mine — for digging
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. rest — what's left
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. face — to point toward
  10. rest — what's left
  11. firm — a company
  12. firm — steady
  13. firm — decided
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. face — part of the head
  18. rest — a break
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. clip — for paper
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. prune — to trim
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. clip — to cut

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