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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: face · mouse · clip · lean · season · land · game · dip

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. land — ground
  4. lean — thin
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. lean — to bend
  8. land — to come down
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. season — in sport
  11. face — to confront
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. clip — a video
  15. face — part of the head
  16. land — a country
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. dip — to sink
  19. clip — to cut
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. game — a match
  22. season — of the year
  23. clip — for paper
  24. game — wild animals

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