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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. fine — all right
  4. face — to confront
  5. bass — low music
  6. clip — a video
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. cap — of ice
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. cap — a hat
  15. bass — the fish
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cell — a phone
  18. face — part of the head
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. fine — high quality
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cell — in biology
  23. clip — for paper
  24. face — to point toward

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