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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. wound — an injury
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. wound — an injury
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. clip — a video
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. face — to confront
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. rush — hurry
  15. clip — to cut
  16. degree — from a university
  17. face — to point toward
  18. degree — temperature
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. straw — dry grass

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