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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. ball — a dance
  4. pop — music
  5. bark — to shout
  6. rule — a law
  7. spring — the season
  8. clip — a video
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. spring — a coil
  11. ball — a great time
  12. rule — government
  13. pop — soda
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. chair — a leader
  16. pop — to visit
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. sharp — clever
  19. spring — of water
  20. clip — for paper
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. clip — to cut

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