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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 120 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: ground · pit · season · bore · leaves · wind · face · clip

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. face — to confront
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pit — a hole
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. season — in sport
  10. pit — in a race
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. clip — a video
  13. face — to point toward
  14. ground — the earth
  15. season — of the year
  16. wind — moving air
  17. face — part of the head
  18. ground — crushed
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bore — to drill
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bore — to tire
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. ground — a position

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