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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. deal — to handle
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. clip — for paper
  6. spring — a coil
  7. game — a match
  8. club — a group
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. club — for dancing
  11. clip — to cut
  12. spring — of water
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. spring — the season
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. club — for golf
  19. game — wild animals
  20. ball — a great time
  21. ball — a dance
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. clip — a video

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