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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. clip — a video
  5. wind — moving air
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. clip — to cut
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. face — to confront
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rest — a break
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. face — part of the head
  14. wound — an injury
  15. face — to point toward
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. rest — what's left
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. wind — moving air
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. clip — for paper
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. foot — a measure

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