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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  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. hide — to keep secret
  2. key — for a lock
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. pop — soda
  6. band — a music group
  7. squash — the sport
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. pop — to visit
  10. capital — a city
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — to crush
  13. clip — for paper
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. key — the most important part
  18. key — in music
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. capital — money
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pop — music
  23. band — a ring
  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