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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. face — to point toward
  5. season — in sport
  6. ball — a dance
  7. clip — for paper
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. clip — a video
  10. squash — the sport
  11. face — part of the head
  12. clip — to cut
  13. mate — a partner
  14. perch — the fish
  15. mate — to breed
  16. sharp — clever
  17. face — to confront
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. squash — to crush
  20. mate — a friend
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. season — of the year
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. perch — for a bird

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