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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 116 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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. ball — a dance
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. spell — magic
  5. object — an aim
  6. lie — to recline
  7. rest — what's left
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — letters
  10. land — to come down
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. clip — for paper
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. clip — a video
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. rest — what's left
  17. object — to protest
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rest — a break
  20. object — a thing
  21. land — a country
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. land — ground
  24. ball — a great time

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