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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. clip — to cut
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. face — to confront
  6. chip — to eat
  7. mark — a grade
  8. spring — the season
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. clip — a video
  12. mark — a trace
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chip — for betting
  17. clip — for paper
  18. spring — of water
  19. perch — the fish
  20. face — part of the head
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. spring — a coil
  24. calf — a young animal

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