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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. clip — a video
  3. wound — an injury
  4. hand — in cards
  5. face — to point toward
  6. clip — for paper
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. clip — to cut
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. hand — help
  11. can — a tin
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. can — a tin
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. chair — a leader
  16. saw — the tool
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. saw — the tool
  19. face — part of the head
  20. wound — an injury
  21. face — to confront
  22. can — to be able to
  23. mark — a grade
  24. hand — part of the body

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