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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. fine — all right
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. spell — a short time
  5. face — to confront
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. lean — thin
  8. clip — to cut
  9. spell — magic
  10. clip — a video
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. lean — to bend
  15. saw — the tool
  16. clip — for paper
  17. spell — letters
  18. saw — the tool
  19. fine — high quality
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. face — part of the head
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. straw — dry grass

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