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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. face — to confront
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. face — part of the head
  9. clip — for paper
  10. content — the amount
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. pound — a weight
  15. cue — a hint
  16. foot — a measure
  17. face — to point toward
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. clip — a video
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. cue — for pool
  22. vault — a safe
  23. content — happy
  24. cue — a signal

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