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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. wind — moving air
  7. face — to point toward
  8. ball — a great time
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. scale — size or range
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wake — a trail
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. face — part of the head
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. ball — a dance
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. scale — in music
  23. clip — to cut
  24. face — to confront

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