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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. clip — a video
  3. face — to confront
  4. bank — for money
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. shower — rain
  7. bank — of a river
  8. sharp — clever
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bank — for money
  11. race — humankind
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — the arms race
  20. face — part of the head
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. roll — a list
  23. roll — a cake
  24. bat — the animal

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