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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. can — a tin
  3. ball — a dance
  4. spring — a coil
  5. present — a gift
  6. swing — to play on
  7. board — to get on
  8. present — there
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. clip — to cut
  11. board — a committee
  12. can — a tin
  13. spring — the season
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. swing — in golf
  16. clip — for paper
  17. swing — music
  18. spring — of water
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. present — the time now
  21. clip — a video
  22. wake — a trail
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. ball — a great time

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