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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. spring — the season
  4. face — to confront
  5. shower — rain
  6. face — to point toward
  7. present — the time now
  8. present — there
  9. present — a gift
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. lie — to recline
  12. clip — a video
  13. rash — a series
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. clip — to cut
  17. face — part of the head
  18. shower — to wash
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. spring — a coil
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. clip — for paper
  23. spring — of water
  24. rash — hasty

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