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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. spring — the season
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ball — a dance
  12. fine — all right
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. spring — of water
  15. clip — a video
  16. spring — a coil
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to point toward
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. fine — high quality
  22. ball — a great time
  23. clip — to cut
  24. fine — a penalty

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