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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. clip — for paper
  6. dip — to sink
  7. face — part of the head
  8. clip — to cut
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. land — a country
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. mark — a grade
  13. face — to point toward
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. spring — the season
  17. mark — a trace
  18. spring — of water
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. cap — of ice
  21. face — to confront
  22. cap — a hat
  23. clip — a video
  24. cap — a lid

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