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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pop — music
  6. club — for golf
  7. pop — to visit
  8. rash — a series
  9. wind — moving air
  10. clip — for paper
  11. chip — for betting
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. rash — hasty
  16. ball — a great time
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — to cut
  20. ball — a dance
  21. club — a group
  22. pop — soda
  23. club — for dancing
  24. chip — to eat

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