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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. clip — to cut
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. wound — an injury
  6. deal — to handle
  7. last — to go on
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. staff — a stick
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. rock — music
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. clip — a video
  14. staff — employees
  15. last — final
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. last — finally
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. staff — employees
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. rock — a stone
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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