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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. clip — for paper
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. club — a group
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stem — to come from
  8. clip — to cut
  9. sharp — clever
  10. game — wild animals
  11. clip — a video
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. game — a match
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. club — for golf
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. club — for dancing
  23. prune — to trim
  24. ball — a great time

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