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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. row — to paddle
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. deal — to handle
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. snap — to click
  12. mark — a trace
  13. row — a line
  14. content — happy
  15. face — part of the head
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. clip — to cut
  18. face — to confront
  19. content — the amount
  20. mark — a grade
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. row — a quarrel

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