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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bat — the animal
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. suit — in cards
  6. cap — a hat
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. suit — clothes
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. suit — to fit
  12. pop — soda
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. pop — music
  15. pop — to visit
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. last — finally
  21. clip — a video
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bat — in an idiom

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