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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. net — in sport
  3. face — to point toward
  4. charge — electricity
  5. clip — a video
  6. shower — to wash
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. charge — in control
  13. face — part of the head
  14. pitch — completely
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. net — for catching
  17. face — to confront
  18. charge — a price
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. net — after costs
  23. shower — rain
  24. patient — a sick person

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