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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. game — a match
  3. spell — magic
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. clip — a video
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bear — the animal
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bear — the animal
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. club — for golf
  17. game — wild animals
  18. spell — a short time
  19. clip — to cut
  20. club — a group
  21. club — for dancing
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. saw — the tool
  24. spell — letters

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