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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  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. cue — a hint
  2. chest — a box
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. fine — high quality
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. face — to confront
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. clip — to cut
  9. cue — a signal
  10. net — in sport
  11. fine — all right
  12. season — in sport
  13. chest — of your body
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — after costs
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. cue — for pool
  18. face — part of the head
  19. branch — a division
  20. chest — of your body
  21. clip — a video
  22. face — to point toward
  23. season — of the year
  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