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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. march — music
  5. face — to point toward
  6. clip — for paper
  7. net — in sport
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. rush — hurry
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. bat — the animal
  13. face — to confront
  14. clip — a video
  15. net — for catching
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. face — part of the head
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. lean — thin
  21. lean — to bend
  22. net — after costs
  23. clip — to cut
  24. nail — for a hammer

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