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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 sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  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. bay — a part of the sea
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. squash — the sport
  6. game — a match
  7. court — for sport
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. court — of law
  12. game — wild animals
  13. squash — to crush
  14. pitch — completely
  15. court — of a king
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — a tool
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. pop — soda
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pop — music
  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