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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. net — after costs
  4. face — part of the head
  5. net — in sport
  6. squash — to crush
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. clip — a video
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. squash — the sport
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. face — to point toward
  15. capital — a city
  16. clip — to cut
  17. capital — money
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. net — for catching

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