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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. fine — all right
  3. club — a group
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. capital — a city
  6. court — of law
  7. court — of a king
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. clip — for paper
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. club — for golf
  12. fine — high quality
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. lean — to bend
  15. club — for dancing
  16. capital — money
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. court — for sport
  19. lean — thin
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — part of the head
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — a video

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