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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. clip — for paper
  4. mine — for digging
  5. clip — to cut
  6. key — the most important part
  7. stand — to bear
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. key — for a lock
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. clip — a video
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. key — in 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