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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. game — a match
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. clip — a video
  5. march — music
  6. game — wild animals
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. lean — to bend
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. ball — a great time
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. roll — a cake
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. ball — a dance
  18. roll — a list
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. march — the month
  21. clip — to cut
  22. march — the month
  23. clip — for paper
  24. nail — for a hammer

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