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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. clip — to cut
  3. face — part of the head
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. track — a song
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. kid — to tease
  8. track — to keep track
  9. clip — for paper
  10. shower — rain
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. face — to confront
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. key — the most important part
  15. mate — a friend
  16. key — for a lock
  17. shower — to wash
  18. track — a path
  19. clip — a video
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. key — in music
  22. mate — to breed
  23. face — to point toward
  24. kid — child

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