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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. plane — a tool
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. spring — of water
  6. face — to confront
  7. chest — of your body
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. kick — in football
  13. spring — the season
  14. chest — a box
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. chest — of your body
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. spring — a coil
  19. face — to point toward
  20. clip — a video
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pit — a hole

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