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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 124 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. track — a song
  3. object — an aim
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. object — to protest
  6. clip — for paper
  7. vault — a safe
  8. track — a path
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. track — to keep track
  12. content — the amount
  13. ball — a great time
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. hand — in cards
  21. content — happy
  22. object — a thing
  23. hand — help
  24. pass — a permit

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