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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. drill — a practice
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. clip — a video
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. season — of the year
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. rest — what's left
  9. face — to confront
  10. rest — a break
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. season — in sport
  13. face — to point toward
  14. clip — to cut
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. tear — to rip
  17. stand — to bear
  18. rest — what's left
  19. drill — the tool
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. clip — for paper
  23. drill — army training
  24. tear — from crying

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