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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. clip — for paper
  5. ball — a dance
  6. band — a music group
  7. rock — a stone
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. net — in sport
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. rock — music
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. pit — in a race
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — after costs
  19. band — a ring
  20. ball — a great time
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — a video
  23. pit — a hole
  24. hand — in cards

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