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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. clip — to cut
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. mug — a cup
  6. scale — in music
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. clip — for paper
  9. mug — a face
  10. clip — a video
  11. scale — size or range
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. mug — to rob
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. kick — in football
  18. stem — to come from

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