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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. face — part of the head
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. face — to confront
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. rush — hurry
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. last — final
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — of the year
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. face — to point toward
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. last — finally
  20. clip — to cut
  21. last — to go on
  22. kick — in football
  23. bark — to shout
  24. season — in sport

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