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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. hand — in cards
  3. kick — in football
  4. mate — to breed
  5. face — part of the head
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. face — to point toward
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mate — a friend
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. bound — certain
  12. hand — help
  13. bound — tied together
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. face — to confront
  17. clip — to cut
  18. game — wild animals
  19. mate — a partner
  20. game — a match
  21. bound — obliged
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. clip — a video

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