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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. pitch — completely
  3. clip — a video
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. face — to point toward
  7. season — of the year
  8. kid — to tease
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. race — humankind
  11. face — part of the head
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. race — the arms race
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. face — to confront
  18. hand — help
  19. season — in sport
  20. clip — for paper
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. clip — to cut
  23. race — a contest
  24. pitch — a sports field

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