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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. net — in sport
  3. face — to confront
  4. mark — a trace
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. present — there
  7. clip — a video
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. present — the time now
  10. net — after costs
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. snap — to click
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. clip — to cut
  15. net — for catching
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. pitch — completely
  18. clip — for paper
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — part of the head
  22. mark — a grade
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. present — a gift

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