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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. face — to confront
  3. cap — a hat
  4. march — the month
  5. face — part of the head
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. clip — for paper
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. clip — to cut
  10. deal — to handle
  11. board — to get on
  12. face — to point toward
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cap — of ice
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — the earth
  18. march — the month
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. cap — a lid
  21. board — a committee
  22. march — music
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. clip — a video

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