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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. ball — a great time
  4. rock — music
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rock — a stone
  13. ball — a dance
  14. mark — a grade
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. mark — a trace
  23. clip — for paper
  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