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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. clip — to cut
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. track — a path
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. rule — a law
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. track — to keep track
  10. track — a song
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — a video
  16. prune — to trim
  17. ball — a dance
  18. vault — a safe
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rule — government
  24. ball — a great time

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