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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — part of the head
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — for paper
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. saw — the tool
  8. season — in sport
  9. current — electric
  10. march — the month
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. face — to confront
  13. kid — to tease
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. current — of water
  16. current — happening now
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. clip — to cut
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. season — of the year
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. saw — the tool

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