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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. last — finally
  3. last — final
  4. clip — a video
  5. ball — a great time
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. clip — to cut
  9. pit — a hole
  10. last — to go on
  11. kid — child
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mate — a friend
  14. fall — to drop
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. mate — a partner
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. fall — the season
  19. clip — for paper
  20. kid — to tease
  21. fall — to drop
  22. ball — a dance
  23. pit — in a race
  24. hide — to keep secret

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