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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bear — the animal
  3. season — in sport
  4. pound — a weight
  5. bear — the animal
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wake — a trail
  8. clip — a video
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. hand — in cards
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. net — for catching
  14. season — of the year
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — in sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. hand — help
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. racket — a loud noise

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