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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. clip — to cut
  3. present — a gift
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. land — ground
  6. land — to come down
  7. wake — a trail
  8. scale — in music
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. pitch — completely
  15. clip — for paper
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. land — a country
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. present — there
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. present — the time now
  24. clip — a video

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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