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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 120 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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. rock — music
  3. rock — a stone
  4. season — in sport
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. ball — a great time
  9. bark — to shout
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. dip — to sink
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. ball — a dance
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. season — of the year

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