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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 116 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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. clip — for paper
  4. cell — a phone
  5. pound — a weight
  6. face — to confront
  7. cell — in biology
  8. mug — a cup
  9. mug — a face
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. mug — to rob
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. clip — to cut
  16. sharp — clever
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. lean — thin
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. lean — to bend
  21. clip — a video
  22. face — to point toward
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. pound — for dogs

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