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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. rush — hurry
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. clip — a video
  6. bat — the animal
  7. court — for sport
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. spell — letters
  10. fall — the season
  11. court — of law
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. court — of a king
  14. spell — a short time
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. board — a committee
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. fall — to drop
  22. board — to get on
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bat — in an idiom

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