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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. ball — a great time
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. pitch — completely
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. last — finally
  7. rock — music
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. rock — a stone
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. last — to go on
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. wound — an injury
  17. roll — a list
  18. roll — a cake
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. plane — a tool
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — a video
  23. last — final
  24. pitch — a sports field

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