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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. clip — a video
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rock — a stone
  7. key — in music
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. key — for a lock
  10. land — ground
  11. land — to come down
  12. rock — music
  13. lie — to recline
  14. key — the most important part
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. clip — for paper
  19. game — wild animals
  20. land — a country
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. game — a match
  24. hide — animal skin

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