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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. face — to point toward
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — a video
  8. row — a line
  9. bulb — for light
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. bulb — for light
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. face — part of the head
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. clip — for paper
  20. face — to confront
  21. row — to paddle
  22. branch — a division
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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