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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. clip — a video
  3. mate — to breed
  4. squash — to crush
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. fall — to drop
  7. ball — a great time
  8. fall — to drop
  9. clip — for paper
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. lie — to recline
  15. clip — to cut
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. mate — a partner
  19. row — to paddle
  20. squash — the sport
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. ball — a dance
  23. row — a line
  24. fall — the season

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