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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. ball — a dance
  3. clip — for paper
  4. key — for a lock
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. ball — a great time
  7. bulb — for light
  8. clip — a video
  9. key — in music
  10. stock — goods
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. key — the most important part
  13. bulb — for light
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. file — a tool
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. file — a document
  21. clip — to cut
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wake — a trail
  24. stock — shares

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