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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. face — part of the head
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bass — low music
  11. land — to come down
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. face — to confront
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. land — a country
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — a phone
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. land — ground
  24. bass — 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