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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. march — the month
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. race — the arms race
  7. march — music
  8. ball — a dance
  9. race — a contest
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. clip — to cut
  12. mark — a grade
  13. clip — a video
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. race — humankind
  16. ball — a great time
  17. spell — magic
  18. clip — for paper
  19. march — the month
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — letters

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