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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. spring — the season
  3. clip — to cut
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. spring — of water
  6. charge — electricity
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. root — of a plant
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. root — the cause
  11. root — of a word
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. race — the arms race
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. toast — bread
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — humankind
  19. spring — a coil
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. charge — in control
  22. ball — a great time
  23. charge — a price
  24. dip — to sink

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