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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. club — for golf
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. snap — to click
  7. face — part of the head
  8. clip — a video
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. clip — to cut
  12. squash — the sport
  13. club — a group
  14. face — to point toward
  15. club — for dancing
  16. clip — for paper
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. spring — of water
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — the season
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. squash — to crush
  24. pitcher — a jug

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