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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. mate — a partner
  3. spell — letters
  4. ball — a great time
  5. spell — magic
  6. ball — a dance
  7. spell — a short time
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a friend
  10. cap — a lid
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. rule — a law
  14. swing — music
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — to play on
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. band — a music group
  22. rule — government
  23. cap — a hat
  24. clip — for paper

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