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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. clip — a video
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ball — a dance
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. fall — to drop
  10. net — after costs
  11. fall — to drop
  12. pit — a hole
  13. fall — the season
  14. pit — in a race
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — in sport
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — a match
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. clip — to cut
  24. game — wild animals

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