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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. face — to confront
  3. drill — a practice
  4. drill — the tool
  5. face — to point toward
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — a phone
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. track — to keep track
  10. clip — for paper
  11. content — the amount
  12. track — a path
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. content — happy
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. face — part of the head
  19. wound — an injury
  20. track — a song
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wound — an injury

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