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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 120 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. clip — for paper
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bear — the animal
  9. mine — for digging
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. clip — a video
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. drill — army training
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bear — the animal
  18. ball — a great time
  19. drill — a practice
  20. wake — a trail
  21. cell — a phone
  22. pound — a weight
  23. drill — the tool
  24. ball — a dance

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