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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. bass — low music
  3. tube — the underground
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. bat — the animal
  6. lie — to recline
  7. cue — for pool
  8. cue — a signal
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. face — part of the head
  12. clip — for paper
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. tube — a container
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. clip — to cut
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. cue — a hint
  23. clip — a video
  24. face — to confront

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