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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. clip — a video
  4. club — a group
  5. face — to point toward
  6. face — part of the head
  7. club — for dancing
  8. face — to confront
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bore — to tire
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — of the year
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. wind — moving air
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. wind — moving air
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. bore — to drill
  24. foot — a measure

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