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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. clip — a video
  3. capital — a city
  4. fine — all right
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — the fish
  7. shower — to wash
  8. capital — money
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. fine — high quality
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bass — low music
  14. face — to confront
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. face — part of the head

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