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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. pop — to visit
  3. ball — a great time
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. face — to confront
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. clip — to cut
  8. craft — boats
  9. fork — in a road
  10. face — part of the head
  11. hand — help
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. clip — a video
  16. face — to point toward
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. pop — soda
  19. craft — a skill
  20. pop — music
  21. pitch — completely
  22. clip — for paper
  23. hand — in cards
  24. craft — a handicraft

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