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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 116 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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. staff — a stick
  3. ball — a great time
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. fall — to drop
  6. staff — employees
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. clip — to cut
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. staff — employees
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. game — a match
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. spell — letters
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — wild animals
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. clip — a video
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. dip — to sink
  24. clip — for paper

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