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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 116 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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. row — a line
  3. stand — to bear
  4. ball — a great time
  5. clip — for paper
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bass — the fish
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. clip — to cut
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. clip — a video
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. ball — a round shape

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