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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. face — to confront
  4. net — after costs
  5. rest — what's left
  6. swing — to play on
  7. saw — the tool
  8. swing — in golf
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wind — moving air
  12. net — in sport
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. saw — the tool
  18. net — for catching
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. face — part of the head
  21. wind — moving air
  22. swing — music
  23. face — to point toward
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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