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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. spring — the season
  5. face — to point toward
  6. clip — a video
  7. bank — for money
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. clip — for paper
  11. face — to confront
  12. saw — the tool
  13. spring — of water
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bank — for money
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. sharp — clever
  22. bank — of a river
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. face — part of the head

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