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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. rock — a stone
  3. club — a group
  4. pop — soda
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pop — music
  7. face — to confront
  8. rock — music
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. clip — a video
  11. wound — an injury
  12. clip — for paper
  13. face — part of the head
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. pop — to visit
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. club — for golf
  19. fall — to drop
  20. face — to point toward
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — a leader
  23. wound — an injury
  24. club — for dancing

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