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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. wake — a trail
  4. bat — the animal
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. clip — a video
  9. squash — the sport
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. bear — the animal
  18. clip — to cut
  19. capital — a city
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. swing — in golf
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — to play on

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