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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. face — part of the head
  3. march — music
  4. face — to confront
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cap — a hat
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. staff — employees
  10. clip — a video
  11. cap — a lid
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. cap — of ice
  14. staff — a stick
  15. rash — hasty
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. rash — a series
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. staff — employees
  21. clip — to cut
  22. face — to point toward
  23. march — the month
  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