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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pitch — completely
  3. file — a line of people
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — the season
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. file — a tool
  14. clip — a video
  15. spring — of water
  16. rest — what's left
  17. file — a document
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. craft — boats
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a great time
  24. craft — a skill

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