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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. mate — a friend
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bound — tied together
  5. mate — to breed
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. chip — to eat
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. chip — for betting
  11. land — ground
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. ball — a great time
  15. land — a country
  16. mate — a partner
  17. bound — obliged
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. prune — to trim
  20. land — to come down
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bound — certain
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. deal — to handle

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