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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. tear — from crying
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bat — the animal
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. cap — a lid
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. lie — to recline
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. foot — a measure
  16. clip — a video
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cap — a hat
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — part of the head
  24. cap — of ice

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