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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. net — in sport
  3. ball — a great time
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. face — to confront
  8. staff — employees
  9. bear — the animal
  10. net — for catching
  11. ball — a dance
  12. march — the month
  13. face — part of the head
  14. clip — a video
  15. staff — employees
  16. face — to point toward
  17. march — the month
  18. pop — to visit
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bear — the animal
  21. staff — a stick
  22. pop — music
  23. march — music
  24. net — after costs

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