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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. clip — a video
  3. game — a match
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. cue — a signal
  8. lean — thin
  9. game — wild animals
  10. season — in sport
  11. cue — for pool
  12. season — of the year
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. cue — a hint
  15. ground — crushed
  16. clip — for paper
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — a leader
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. clip — to cut
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — a position

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