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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. cell — in biology
  3. clip — for paper
  4. stand — to bear
  5. fine — all right
  6. file — a tool
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. swing — in golf
  11. face — to confront
  12. pass — a permit
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. clip — a video
  15. fine — high quality
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people
  19. face — part of the head
  20. swing — music
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. swing — to play on
  23. cell — a phone
  24. stand — for spectators

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