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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. ball — a great time
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. lean — thin
  7. ball — a dance
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. net — for catching
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. bat — the animal
  20. pit — in a race
  21. lean — to bend
  22. net — after costs
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. net — in sport

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