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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. ball — a great time
  3. ball — a dance
  4. march — music
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to point toward
  7. clip — for paper
  8. swing — in golf
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. land — to come down
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. wake — a trail
  14. face — to confront
  15. swing — music
  16. march — the month
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. clip — a video
  21. land — ground
  22. swing — to play on
  23. clip — to cut
  24. march — the month

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