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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. key — the most important part
  8. club — for golf
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wind — moving air
  11. clip — a video
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. key — in music
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ball — a great time
  16. pitch — completely
  17. board — to get on
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. board — a committee
  20. club — for dancing
  21. clip — for paper
  22. key — for a lock
  23. club — a group
  24. pitch — a sports field

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