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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. spring — a coil
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. present — a gift
  5. spring — the season
  6. clip — a video
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. present — there
  10. face — to point toward
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. spring — of water
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. prune — to trim
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. present — the time now
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. face — to confront
  24. prune — to trim

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