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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. clip — a video
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. track — to keep track
  6. rest — what's left
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. clip — for paper
  11. ball — a great time
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a match
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. foot — a measure
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. track — a song
  19. rest — what's left
  20. track — a path
  21. plane — a tool
  22. clip — to cut
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. rest — a break

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