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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. toast — bread
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. ball — a great time
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. hand — in cards
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. hand — help
  16. clip — a video
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. bass — low music

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