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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. spring — the season
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mug — a face
  6. spring — a coil
  7. clip — a video
  8. hand — help
  9. spring — of water
  10. hand — in cards
  11. ball — a dance
  12. face — to confront
  13. march — the month
  14. mug — a cup
  15. march — the month
  16. ball — a great time
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to point toward
  19. clip — for paper
  20. rest — what's left
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. march — music
  23. rest — a break
  24. mug — to rob

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