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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. land — a country
  3. scale — in music
  4. cap — a lid
  5. net — after costs
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. face — to confront
  9. scale — size or range
  10. face — part of the head
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cap — of ice
  13. clip — for paper
  14. net — in sport
  15. land — to come down
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. net — for catching
  21. land — ground
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cell — a phone

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