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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: cap · straw · ground · chest · clip · rock · face · mark

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. chest — of your body
  3. ground — the earth
  4. mark — a trace
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. clip — to cut
  8. mark — a grade
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. cap — a hat
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. rock — a stone
  14. chest — a box
  15. face — part of the head
  16. cap — a lid
  17. ground — a position
  18. clip — for paper
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rock — music
  21. ground — crushed
  22. face — to confront
  23. cap — of ice
  24. clip — a video

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