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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 120 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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. fine — high quality
  5. clip — for paper
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. mark — a trace
  9. face — part of the head
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — the fish
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. hand — in cards
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. face — to confront
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. mark — a grade
  24. face — to point toward

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