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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  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 — part of the head
  2. field — a subject
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wind — moving air
  5. can — a tin
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bass — low music
  8. can — to be able to
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. kid — to tease
  12. clip — a video
  13. field — for sport
  14. clip — for paper
  15. face — to point toward
  16. kid — child
  17. field — farmland
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. face — to confront
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. can — a tin
  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