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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. clip — for paper
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. net — for catching
  6. hand — help
  7. plane — a tool
  8. hand — in cards
  9. net — in sport
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. face — part of the head
  12. clip — to cut
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. net — after costs
  15. stock — shares
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. clip — a video
  18. rest — what's left
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. fine — all right
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. stock — goods
  23. rest — a break
  24. rest — what's left

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