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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. clip — to cut
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. face — to point toward
  6. snap — to click
  7. bore — to drill
  8. object — to protest
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to tire
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wind — moving air
  15. clip — a video
  16. object — a thing
  17. wind — moving air
  18. content — the amount
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. object — an aim
  23. content — happy
  24. face — to confront

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