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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. net — after costs
  4. kick — in football
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. net — in sport
  9. clip — for paper
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. scale — in music
  12. net — for catching
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — part of the head
  22. scale — size or range
  23. vault — a safe
  24. patient — a sick person

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