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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 120 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. shower — rain
  4. fine — all right
  5. face — to confront
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. clip — for paper
  11. fine — high quality
  12. shower — to wash
  13. wake — a trail
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. clip — to cut
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a match
  19. clip — a video
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. dip — to sink
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. face — part of the head

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