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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. last — final
  3. ball — a dance
  4. lie — to recline
  5. last — finally
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. clip — a video
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. last — to go on
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. charge — electricity
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. charge — a price
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. deal — to handle
  19. wound — an injury
  20. clip — to cut
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. clip — for paper
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. charge — in control

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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