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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  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. chest — of your body
  2. clip — a video
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. scale — size or range
  7. chest — of your body
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. tube — a container
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. chest — a box
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. scale — in music
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — the underground
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. deal — to handle
  23. mouse — for a computer
  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