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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. season — in sport
  4. clip — to cut
  5. prune — to trim
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. clip — a video
  9. season — of the year
  10. ball — a great time
  11. degree — an amount
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. deal — to handle
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. clip — for paper
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bear — the animal
  18. prune — to trim
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bear — the animal
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. lash — to lash out

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