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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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 — for paper
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. face — to point toward
  5. ball — a great time
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cold — not warm
  8. lie — to recline
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. court — of a king
  13. ball — a dance
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. face — to confront
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. court — for sport
  18. clip — a video
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pitch — completely
  24. court — of law

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