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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. rest — what's left
  3. wound — an injury
  4. clip — a video
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. sharp — clever
  8. wound — an injury
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. clip — for paper
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. branch — a division
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. saw — the tool
  20. perch — the fish
  21. clip — to cut
  22. ball — a great time
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — of a bank

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