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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. chest — of your body
  3. charge — a price
  4. pound — a weight
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. chest — a box
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. clip — to cut
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. charge — electricity
  14. ball — a dance
  15. face — to point toward
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. charge — in control
  18. chest — of your body
  19. face — part of the head
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. face — to confront
  23. bark — to shout
  24. arm — a part of something

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