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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. present — a gift
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. ball — a dance
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. present — the time now
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. clip — for paper
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. track — to keep track
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. hand — in cards
  15. tube — a container
  16. track — a song
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. ball — a great time
  19. tube — the underground
  20. track — a path
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. present — there
  24. stand — to bear

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