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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. court — of law
  3. clip — to cut
  4. land — to come down
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. mark — a trace
  8. file — a tool
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. clip — a video
  11. face — to point toward
  12. face — part of the head
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. land — ground
  15. land — a country
  16. mark — a grade
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of a king
  21. bat — the animal
  22. file — a document
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. face — to confront

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