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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. clip — a video
  3. face — to confront
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. clip — to cut
  6. snap — to click
  7. rest — what's left
  8. clip — for paper
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. rest — what's left
  12. mark — a grade
  13. shower — to wash
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mark — a trace
  16. face — part of the head
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. face — to point toward
  20. wound — an injury
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. rest — a break
  24. shower — rain

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