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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 124 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. track — a song
  4. spell — letters
  5. track — a path
  6. track — to keep track
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. clip — a video
  13. spell — a short time
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. face — part of the head
  18. kick — in football
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. spell — magic
  22. face — to point toward
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. plane — a tool

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