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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. face — to confront
  3. kick — in football
  4. clip — for paper
  5. rock — a stone
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pop — soda
  9. saw — the tool
  10. clip — to cut
  11. game — a match
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. pop — to visit
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bank — for money
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bank — for money
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. face — part of the head
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. face — to point toward
  22. rock — music
  23. clip — a video
  24. pop — music

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