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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. clip — for paper
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. key — for a lock
  6. ball — a dance
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. lie — to recline
  11. clip — to cut
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a line
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. rock — a stone
  17. clip — a video
  18. rock — music
  19. sharp — clever
  20. band — a music group
  21. key — in music
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. band — a ring
  24. key — the most important part

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