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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 120 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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. wound — an injury
  5. can — a tin
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cap — of ice
  8. clip — a video
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. face — to point toward
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. clip — for paper
  14. root — the cause
  15. clip — to cut
  16. can — a tin
  17. wound — an injury
  18. root — of a word
  19. face — part of the head
  20. can — to be able to
  21. root — of a plant
  22. cap — a lid
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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