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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: shower · object · bay · firm · face · squash · clip · tear

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. squash — the sport
  3. tear — from crying
  4. clip — a video
  5. firm — decided
  6. face — part of the head
  7. firm — steady
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. tear — from crying
  11. shower — to wash
  12. clip — for paper
  13. face — to point toward
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. firm — a company
  17. clip — to cut
  18. tear — to rip
  19. object — an aim
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. object — to protest
  23. shower — rain
  24. object — a thing

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