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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — the animal
  3. row — to paddle
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. clip — to cut
  6. ball — a dance
  7. clip — a video
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. spell — a short time
  12. clip — for paper
  13. snap — to click
  14. spell — magic
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. row — a line
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — in sport
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. ball — a great time
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. spell — letters

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