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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — for paper
  4. mate — to breed
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ground — the earth
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. board — a committee
  10. ground — crushed
  11. bat — the animal
  12. mate — a partner
  13. board — to get on
  14. mark — a trace
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. ground — a position
  20. squash — to crush
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mate — a friend
  24. ball — a round shape

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