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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. clip — to cut
  4. face — to confront
  5. mate — a friend
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. band — a ring
  9. swing — to play on
  10. mate — to breed
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. perch — the fish
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — size or range
  15. firm — a company
  16. scale — in music
  17. firm — steady
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — music
  20. band — a music group
  21. face — to point toward
  22. firm — decided
  23. mate — a partner
  24. perch — for a bird

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