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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bound — certain
  6. clip — a video
  7. bat — the animal
  8. clip — for paper
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bound — obliged
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. face — to confront
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. wind — moving air
  17. saw — the tool
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. face — to point toward
  21. bound — tied together
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. face — part of the head

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