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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — the animal
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. face — to confront
  5. spell — letters
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. clip — to cut
  8. pop — music
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. clip — for paper
  11. spell — a short time
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. face — to point toward
  18. spell — magic
  19. face — part of the head
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pop — soda
  24. clip — a video

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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