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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  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. rock — music
  2. track — a song
  3. snap — to click
  4. lean — to bend
  5. rock — a stone
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. track — a path
  11. face — to confront
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. face — to point toward
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. lean — thin
  20. face — part of the head
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. track — to keep track
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  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