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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. ground — a position
  4. face — to point toward
  5. ground — the earth
  6. clip — a video
  7. hand — in cards
  8. shower — rain
  9. ground — crushed
  10. clip — for paper
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. face — part of the head
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. stem — to come from
  20. shower — to wash
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. hand — help
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. stem — of a plant

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