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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mark · fine · last · face · sharp · cell · clip · fall

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. face — to confront
  3. cell — a phone
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. face — part of the head
  6. fine — all right
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. mark — a trace
  9. clip — a video
  10. mark — a grade
  11. last — to go on
  12. cell — in biology
  13. sharp — clever
  14. fall — the season
  15. last — finally
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. fine — high quality
  22. clip — for paper
  23. last — final
  24. mark — to pay attention

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