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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 124 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. key — in music
  4. clip — a video
  5. mine — for digging
  6. key — the most important part
  7. ball — a great time
  8. shower — rain
  9. suit — to fit
  10. suit — in cards
  11. land — ground
  12. clip — to cut
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. key — for a lock
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. ball — a dance
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wake — a trail
  20. suit — clothes
  21. land — a country
  22. shower — to wash
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. clip — for paper

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