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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. bear — the animal
  3. face — part of the head
  4. clip — for paper
  5. chair — a leader
  6. wound — an injury
  7. face — to confront
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bear — the animal
  13. wound — an injury
  14. clip — a video
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. snap — to click
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bear — to put up with

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