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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. face — to point toward
  6. clip — for paper
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. face — to confront
  12. hand — help
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. content — happy
  15. vault — a safe
  16. wax — to grow
  17. hand — in cards
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. pit — a hole
  23. content — the amount
  24. pit — in a race

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