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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 120 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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. ground — crushed
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. lean — thin
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — in sport
  8. key — for a lock
  9. clip — to cut
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. ground — a position
  12. key — the most important part
  13. key — in music
  14. face — part of the head
  15. drill — a practice
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. face — to point toward
  20. net — after costs
  21. drill — the tool
  22. ground — the earth
  23. drill — army training
  24. face — to confront

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