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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. land — ground
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. clip — for paper
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. clip — to cut
  9. track — to keep track
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. ball — a dance
  13. dip — to sink
  14. land — a country
  15. track — a path
  16. scale — size or range
  17. land — to come down
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. ball — a great time
  20. scale — in music
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. clip — a video
  23. lie — to recline
  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