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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.

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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. clip — a video
  3. rock — a stone
  4. content — happy
  5. face — to confront
  6. rock — music
  7. face — part of the head
  8. season — in sport
  9. wind — moving air
  10. face — to point toward
  11. ground — a position
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. ground — the earth
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. clip — to cut
  20. wind — moving air
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. ground — crushed
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — to add flavour

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