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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. net — in sport
  4. suit — to fit
  5. net — for catching
  6. present — there
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. game — a match
  10. face — to confront
  11. present — a gift
  12. suit — clothes
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. face — to point toward
  17. suit — in cards
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. present — the time now
  20. clip — a video
  21. game — wild animals
  22. clip — for paper
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. net — after costs

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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