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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — in biology
  4. land — to come down
  5. roll — a cake
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. track — to keep track
  8. land — a country
  9. face — to confront
  10. roll — a list
  11. mug — a face
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. cell — a phone
  14. track — a song
  15. clip — a video
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. clip — to cut
  19. mug — a cup
  20. face — part of the head
  21. mug — to rob
  22. face — to point toward
  23. track — a path
  24. clip — for paper

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