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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. spring — a coil
  4. mark — a grade
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. clip — to cut
  7. face — to confront
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. face — to point toward
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. squash — to crush
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. mark — a trace
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. spring — of water
  21. face — part of the head
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. spring — the season

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