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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. clip — to cut
  3. tube — the underground
  4. dip — to sink
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. land — ground
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. saw — the tool
  15. tube — a container
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. land — to come down
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. saw — the tool
  21. land — a country
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. bat — the animal
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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