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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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. kid — to tease
  4. fine — all right
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. rash — a series
  9. bear — the animal
  10. face — to point toward
  11. kid — child
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. march — music
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. rash — hasty
  18. clip — for paper
  19. face — to confront
  20. kick — in football
  21. march — the month
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. fine — high quality

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