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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. last — final
  3. last — finally
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. ball — a dance
  9. pop — soda
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. ball — a great time
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. clip — for paper
  14. last — to go on
  15. pop — music
  16. clip — to cut
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. prune — to trim
  20. pop — to visit
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. prune — to trim
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. clip — a video

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