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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 116 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — in sport
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. branch — a division
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. mug — a cup
  9. face — to confront
  10. season — of the year
  11. clip — for paper
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. clip — a video
  14. face — part of the head
  15. deal — to handle
  16. mug — to rob
  17. mug — a face
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. bat — the animal
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. clip — to cut
  24. sharp — with an edge

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