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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 116 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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. face — to confront
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. face — to point toward
  6. clip — a video
  7. mug — to rob
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. stem — to come from
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. clip — to cut
  13. present — a gift
  14. mug — a face
  15. shower — to wash
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. present — there
  18. clip — for paper
  19. present — the time now
  20. march — the month
  21. face — part of the head
  22. shower — rain
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. mouse — for a computer

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