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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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468
Word bank
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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. chest — of your body
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. chest — of your body
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. face — to confront
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. chest — a box
  11. fall — the season
  12. face — part of the head
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. fall — to drop
  15. clip — for paper
  16. fall — to drop
  17. dip — to sink
  18. stand — to bear
  19. clip — a video
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. lie — to recline
  22. clip — to cut
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to click

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