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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. shower — to wash
  3. clip — a video
  4. pound — a weight
  5. bat — the animal
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. clip — for paper
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cell — in biology
  12. shower — rain
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. ball — a great time
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bear — the animal
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. clip — to cut
  24. ball — a dance

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