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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. suit — clothes
  3. cue — a hint
  4. suit — in cards
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. suit — to fit
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. capital — a city
  9. bark — to shout
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. race — humankind
  13. clip — for paper
  14. face — to confront
  15. clip — a video
  16. race — a contest
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. face — to point toward
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. cue — a signal
  21. capital — money
  22. cue — for pool
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. clip — to cut

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