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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. mug — a face
  3. clip — a video
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. roll — a cake
  7. pitch — completely
  8. face — part of the head
  9. bat — the animal
  10. mug — a cup
  11. face — to confront
  12. face — to point toward
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. plane — a tool
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — for sport
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. field — farmland
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. roll — a list
  24. mug — to rob

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