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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. scale — in music
  3. tear — from crying
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. wound — an injury
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. tear — to rip
  9. scale — size or range
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cue — a hint
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. cue — a signal
  14. face — to confront
  15. clip — a video
  16. face — part of the head
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cue — for pool
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. clip — for paper
  22. chair — a leader
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. clip — to cut

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