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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. clip — for paper
  3. deal — to handle
  4. mate — a partner
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. game — a match
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. stand — to bear
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. clip — to cut
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. mate — a friend
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. mate — to breed
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. clip — a video
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. game — wild animals

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