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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. face — to point toward
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. march — music
  8. craft — boats
  9. face — to confront
  10. clip — for paper
  11. saw — the tool
  12. lie — to recline
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. snap — to click
  16. saw — the tool
  17. game — a match
  18. clip — to cut
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. face — part of the head
  23. clip — a video
  24. craft — a skill

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