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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. That must've been 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. spell — magic
  3. court — for sport
  4. clip — a video
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. can — a tin
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. court — of law
  11. spell — a short time
  12. can — a tin
  13. spell — letters
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. clip — for paper
  17. mine — for digging
  18. face — to confront
  19. court — of a king
  20. face — to point toward
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. rush — hurry
  23. can — to be able to
  24. rush — a thrill

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