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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. drill — the tool
  3. mug — a face
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. march — the month
  7. drill — a practice
  8. face — part of the head
  9. clip — to cut
  10. face — to point toward
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. mug — to rob
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. clip — a video
  16. drill — army training
  17. mug — a cup
  18. clip — for paper
  19. march — music
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. perch — the fish
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. march — the month

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