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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wake — a trail
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. pop — to visit
  5. clip — for paper
  6. game — wild animals
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pop — soda
  10. clip — a video
  11. game — a match
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rock — music
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. pop — music
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. rock — a stone
  20. rash — a series
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. calf — a young animal

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