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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 120 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 thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. pop — to visit
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — after costs
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. clip — a video
  10. wake — a trail
  11. pop — soda
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pop — music
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. game — a match
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. ball — a dance
  19. clip — for paper
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. ball — a great time
  22. net — in sport
  23. clip — to cut
  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