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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. mug — a face
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. last — final
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. ball — a great time
  10. board — to get on
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — finally
  15. ball — a dance
  16. board — a committee
  17. toast — bread
  18. mug — to rob
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. clip — for paper
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  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