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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 124 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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a lid
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. bound — obliged
  6. cap — a hat
  7. bound — tied together
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. pit — in a race
  10. bound — certain
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — a series
  13. pit — a hole
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. face — part of the head
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. clip — for paper
  19. row — to paddle
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. face — to point toward
  23. row — a line
  24. row — a quarrel

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