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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — music
  4. clip — for paper
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. game — wild animals
  9. track — a song
  10. track — to keep track
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. clip — to cut
  13. pop — to visit
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cell — a phone
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. cell — in biology
  20. track — a path
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. game — a match
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. clip — a video

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