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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. face — to confront
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. rock — music
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. rest — what's left
  8. clip — for paper
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. face — part of the head
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rock — a stone
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. face — to point toward
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — a break

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