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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. clip — to cut
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. clip — for paper
  7. face — to confront
  8. foot — a measure
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bark — to shout
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. face — part of the head
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. fine — all right
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. fine — high quality
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. vault — a safe
  24. clip — a video

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