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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. spell — magic
  3. bear — the animal
  4. current — of water
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. clip — a video
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. game — wild animals
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. current — happening now
  16. spell — a short time
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. spell — letters
  19. current — electric
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bear — the animal
  23. kid — to tease
  24. mouse — the animal

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