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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. rush — hurry
  5. clip — a video
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. cell — in biology
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. face — part of the head
  10. object — a thing
  11. cell — a phone
  12. toast — bread
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. face — to confront
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. object — to protest
  22. last — final
  23. object — an aim
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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