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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: face · march · clip · firm · cold · calf · plane · squash

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. cold — not warm
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. face — to confront
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. plane — a tool
  10. squash — to crush
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. clip — for paper
  15. cold — an illness
  16. face — to point toward
  17. firm — a company
  18. firm — decided
  19. firm — steady
  20. march — the month
  21. clip — to cut
  22. squash — the sport
  23. clip — a video
  24. face — part of the head

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