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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. ball — a great time
  3. ball — a dance
  4. club — for dancing
  5. saw — the tool
  6. net — for catching
  7. club — for golf
  8. net — in sport
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. net — after costs
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fine — all right
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. club — a group
  18. clip — for paper

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