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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 124 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 mare is ________________ in color.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. clip — a video
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. clip — for paper
  5. cold — not warm
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. game — a match
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. club — a group
  10. cold — an illness
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. clip — to cut
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. court — of law
  18. club — for dancing
  19. game — wild animals
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — for sport
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. club — for golf
  24. leaves — lets stay

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