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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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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. deal — to handle
  3. staff — employees
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wound — an injury
  8. clip — for paper
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. clip — a video
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. staff — employees
  14. face — part of the head
  15. staff — a stick
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. face — to point toward
  20. chip — for betting
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pitch — completely
  23. chip — to eat
  24. wound — an injury

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