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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 116 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. saw — the tool
  5. face — to confront
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bat — the animal
  8. face — part of the head
  9. spell — magic
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. clip — a video
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. present — a gift
  14. present — the time now
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — a short time
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. present — there
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. bat — for baseball

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