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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. wind — moving air
  5. season — in sport
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. fine — high quality
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. clip — for paper
  14. season — of the year
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. clip — a video
  18. fine — all right
  19. face — part of the head
  20. wind — moving air
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — to confront
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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