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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: face · clip · chest · leaves · kid · scale · mouse · bass

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. face — to confront
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. clip — for paper
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — in music
  8. kid — to tease
  9. chest — of your body
  10. scale — size or range
  11. chest — a box
  12. bass — the fish
  13. face — to point toward
  14. clip — a video
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. chest — of your body
  19. kid — child
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. face — part of the head
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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