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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. face — to confront
  3. face — part of the head
  4. squash — to crush
  5. face — to point toward
  6. clip — a video
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — goods
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. tube — the underground
  17. shower — to wash
  18. clip — for paper
  19. squash — the sport
  20. tube — a container
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. clip — to cut

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