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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. hand — in cards
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. face — to confront
  8. spell — letters
  9. board — a committee
  10. hand — help
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — for paper
  13. scale — in music
  14. spell — a short time
  15. prune — to trim
  16. board — to get on
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. clip — a video
  19. face — to point toward
  20. prune — to trim
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. spell — magic
  23. scale — size or range
  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