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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. cap — a hat
  3. file — a document
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. file — a line of people
  7. club — for dancing
  8. plane — a tool
  9. face — to confront
  10. cap — a lid
  11. club — for golf
  12. face — part of the head
  13. club — a group
  14. mate — a friend
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. file — a tool
  17. clip — for paper
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. mate — to breed
  20. clip — a video
  21. mate — a partner
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. clip — to cut
  24. cap — of ice

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