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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. face — part of the head
  3. game — a match
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. lie — to recline
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pit — in a race
  9. clip — a video
  10. stock — shares
  11. face — to confront
  12. game — wild animals
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. face — to point toward
  23. wax — to grow
  24. stock — goods

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