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

Word bank: ball · file · mine · hide · bay · face · snap · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mine — for digging
  6. face — to confront
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. face — part of the head
  11. ball — a great time
  12. snap — to click
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a tool
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. file — a line of people
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. face — to point toward
  20. ball — a dance
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. hide — to keep secret

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