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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. ground — a position
  4. cell — a phone
  5. pop — soda
  6. mark — a trace
  7. mug — a face
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. clip — to cut
  10. club — for golf
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mug — to rob
  13. ground — the earth
  14. mug — a cup
  15. mark — a grade
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. pop — to visit
  18. club — for dancing
  19. pop — music
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. ground — crushed
  23. club — a group
  24. clip — a video

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