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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. last — final
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. clip — to cut
  5. last — finally
  6. face — to confront
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. face — part of the head
  10. bark — to shout
  11. clip — a video
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. last — to go on
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. lie — to recline
  18. clip — for paper
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. march — music
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. vault — a safe

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