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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. face — part of the head
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. stem — to come from
  7. clip — a video
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — in cards
  10. face — to confront
  11. clip — for paper
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. plane — a tool
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. clip — to cut
  21. face — to point toward
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. hand — help

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