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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 116 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: drill · tear · hide · bay · pitch · face · clip · fall

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. face — part of the head
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. clip — a video
  5. face — to confront
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — a practice
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fall — to drop
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. fall — the season
  13. clip — to cut
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. face — to point toward
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pitch — completely
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pitch — a sports field

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