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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: march · firm · clip · tear · mouse · roll · face · date

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. tear — from crying
  3. firm — decided
  4. clip — a video
  5. tear — to rip
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. march — the month
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — to cut
  10. firm — a company
  11. date — the fruit
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. roll — a list
  18. face — part of the head
  19. firm — steady
  20. roll — a cake
  21. tear — from crying
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. face — to point toward

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