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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 116 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. track — to keep track
  3. ball — a great time
  4. spell — magic
  5. shower — rain
  6. track — a path
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. track — a song
  9. spell — a short time
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. clip — for paper
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. mark — a trace
  15. mark — a grade
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. shower — to wash
  18. ball — a dance
  19. spell — letters
  20. wake — a trail
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — a video

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