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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. saw — the tool
  5. face — to point toward
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. swing — in golf
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. clip — a video
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. hand — in cards
  13. face — part of the head
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. hand — help
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. swing — music
  19. clip — to cut
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. pass — a permit
  22. swing — to play on
  23. clip — for paper
  24. saw — the tool

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