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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 116 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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. fall — to drop
  3. clip — a video
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cue — a hint
  6. face — part of the head
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cold — not warm
  9. face — to confront
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. press — a publisher
  12. fall — the season
  13. face — to point toward
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. clip — to cut
  16. press — newspapers
  17. press — to push
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — magic
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. spell — a short time
  22. lie — to recline
  23. cue — for pool
  24. clip — for paper

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