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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. clip — for paper
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. swing — in golf
  7. charge — electricity
  8. net — in sport
  9. face — to confront
  10. net — for catching
  11. clip — to cut
  12. net — after costs
  13. clip — a video
  14. face — part of the head
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — music
  17. kick — in football
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — hasty
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. charge — a price
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. charge — in control
  24. rash — on the skin

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