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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 124 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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  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. ruler — a monarch
  3. clip — a video
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. track — to keep track
  6. track — a song
  7. track — a path
  8. mug — a cup
  9. mug — a face
  10. clip — for paper
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. net — in sport
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. net — for catching
  15. mug — to rob
  16. face — part of the head
  17. wind — moving air
  18. net — after costs
  19. wind — moving air
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. face — to confront
  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