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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. face — part of the head
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — help
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. board — to get on
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a document
  16. face — to point toward
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — a committee
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — low music

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