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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. key — in music
  3. track — a path
  4. clip — a video
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. key — the most important part
  7. face — part of the head
  8. cold — not warm
  9. face — to point toward
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. key — for a lock
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. track — a song
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. track — to keep track
  17. chip — to eat
  18. clip — to cut
  19. chip — for betting
  20. clip — for paper
  21. face — to confront
  22. lean — to bend
  23. cold — an illness
  24. lean — to rest against

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