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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. ball — a great time
  3. scale — size or range
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a tool
  8. clip — a video
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. mark — a grade
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. ball — a dance
  13. cell — in biology
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. file — a line of people
  18. clip — for paper
  19. mark — a trace
  20. clip — to cut
  21. scale — in music
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cell — a phone
  24. bowl — a football final

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