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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. face — part of the head
  3. clip — for paper
  4. field — a subject
  5. staff — a stick
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bank — for money
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bank — for money
  10. field — for sport
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bank — of a river
  13. face — to point toward
  14. clip — a video
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. face — to confront
  19. lie — to recline
  20. staff — employees
  21. field — farmland
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. lie — an untruth

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