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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. pop — soda
  3. mark — a trace
  4. pop — music
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. clip — for paper
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pop — to visit
  12. bass — low music
  13. perch — the fish
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bass — the fish
  16. mark — a grade
  17. vault — a safe
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. rash — hasty
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — a series
  24. perch — for a bird

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