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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to confront
  3. wound — an injury
  4. spell — letters
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. last — finally
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — low music
  9. last — final
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. last — to go on
  12. spell — a short time
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. clip — for paper
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. clip — a video
  17. key — in music
  18. clip — to cut
  19. key — the most important part
  20. spell — magic
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. wound — an injury
  23. key — for a lock
  24. face — to point toward

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