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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. face — part of the head
  3. clip — for paper
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. craft — a skill
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. fine — high quality
  8. tube — a container
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — in sport
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. foot — a measure
  16. tube — the underground
  17. craft — boats
  18. face — to point toward
  19. fine — all right
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. face — to confront
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. capital — a city

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