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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mug — a face
  7. clip — a video
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. snap — to click
  10. can — a tin
  11. cell — in biology
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. race — the arms race
  14. season — of the year
  15. can — a tin
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — humankind
  19. mug — a cup
  20. can — to be able to
  21. cell — a phone
  22. ball — a great time
  23. season — in sport
  24. mug — to rob

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