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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mark — a trace
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. last — final
  9. ball — a great time
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. saw — the tool
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. last — finally
  15. pitch — completely
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. last — to go on
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — for paper
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. clip — a video
  24. saw — the tool

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