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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. clip — to cut
  3. scale — size or range
  4. land — ground
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. land — to come down
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fine — all right
  10. game — wild animals
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. pop — to visit
  15. land — a country
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. pop — music
  19. fine — high quality
  20. scale — in music
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. game — a match
  23. clip — a video
  24. fine — a penalty

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