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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. current — of water
  8. clip — to cut
  9. face — to point toward
  10. cell — in biology
  11. rash — hasty
  12. fine — all right
  13. current — electric
  14. clip — a video
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. cell — a phone
  18. sharp — clever
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. fine — high quality
  21. rash — a series
  22. current — happening now
  23. face — to confront
  24. clip — for paper

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