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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. chair — a leader
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a hat
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. march — the month
  12. cap — a lid
  13. face — to confront
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. wind — moving air
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. wind — moving air
  19. face — to point toward
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. kick — in football
  22. snap — to click
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. kick — with a leg

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