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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 120 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. track — to keep track
  3. deal — to handle
  4. clip — a video
  5. face — to point toward
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. track — a song
  9. clip — for paper
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. face — to confront
  13. clip — to cut
  14. perch — the fish
  15. face — part of the head
  16. season — of the year
  17. track — a path
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. cold — an illness
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. cold — not warm
  24. season — in sport

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