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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.

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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: suit · kick · straw · face · shower · clip · racket · game

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — wild animals
  6. kick — in football
  7. suit — clothes
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to point toward
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. shower — to wash
  13. suit — in cards
  14. clip — for paper
  15. shower — rain
  16. clip — a video
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. suit — to fit
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. game — a match
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. clip — to cut

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