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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. spell — letters
  4. file — a tool
  5. prune — to trim
  6. clip — for paper
  7. face — part of the head
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. plane — a tool
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. file — a line of people
  15. prune — to trim
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. spell — a short time
  18. vault — a safe
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pass — a permit
  21. clip — a video
  22. spell — magic
  23. face — to point toward
  24. file — a document

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