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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. shower — to wash
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. pop — soda
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pop — to visit
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pit — a hole
  9. clip — a video
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. clip — for paper
  12. shower — rain
  13. clip — to cut
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. branch — a division
  16. pop — music
  17. pit — in a race
  18. ball — a great time

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