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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. rock — a stone
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — letters
  8. pop — music
  9. court — for sport
  10. face — to confront
  11. pop — to visit
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. shower — rain
  14. court — of law
  15. clip — to cut
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. face — to point toward
  18. court — of a king
  19. rock — music
  20. pop — soda
  21. face — part of the head
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  24. spell — magic

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