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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
468
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: bear · land · mug · snap · clip · saw · face · hide

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. saw — the tool
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. face — part of the head
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. snap — to click
  9. face — to point toward
  10. land — to come down
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. mug — a cup
  13. land — ground
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bear — the animal
  16. clip — a video
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. clip — to cut
  20. land — a country
  21. mug — to rob
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bear — the animal
  24. mug — a face

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