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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. stock — goods
  5. rest — what's left
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a document
  8. face — part of the head
  9. rest — what's left
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cue — a hint
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. stock — shares
  16. rest — a break
  17. face — to point toward
  18. cue — for pool
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. cue — a signal
  21. chair — a leader
  22. file — a line of people
  23. clip — for paper
  24. perch — the fish

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