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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. clip — for paper
  3. spring — of water
  4. mug — a face
  5. chip — to eat
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. last — to go on
  8. mug — a cup
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. spring — a coil
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. last — finally
  16. last — final
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. wake — a trail
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. mug — to rob
  21. spring — the season
  22. chip — for betting
  23. clip — a video
  24. bay — a horse colour

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