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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. face — to confront
  7. saw — the tool
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. lie — to recline
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. cold — not warm
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. clip — for paper
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. clip — a video
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. clip — to cut
  24. branch — a division

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