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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pop — soda
  6. ball — a dance
  7. fine — all right
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. pop — music
  11. clip — to cut
  12. dip — to sink
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. clip — for paper
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. fine — high quality
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. clip — a video
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. stem — to come from
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. ball — a great time
  24. dip — to dunk

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