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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.

Make a worksheet

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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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 · march · clip · file · bass · toast · cell · chair

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bass — low music
  4. cell — in biology
  5. march — the month
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. cell — a phone
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. march — music
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. march — the month
  12. clip — to cut
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — to confront
  15. bass — the fish
  16. toast — bread
  17. file — a tool
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. file — a document
  21. clip — for paper
  22. file — a line of people
  23. clip — a video
  24. chair — a leader

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