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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. clip — a video
  4. march — the month
  5. chest — a box
  6. face — part of the head
  7. degree — from a university
  8. chest — of your body
  9. clip — for paper
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. degree — an amount
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. shower — to wash
  16. club — for dancing
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. face — to point toward
  20. chest — of your body
  21. club — a group
  22. degree — temperature
  23. club — for golf
  24. clip — to cut

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