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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  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. ball — a dance
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. clip — a video
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. chip — to eat
  6. clip — to cut
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. pop — music
  10. march — music
  11. key — for a lock
  12. ball — a great time
  13. chip — for betting
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. pop — soda
  16. key — in music
  17. pop — to visit
  18. kick — in football
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. key — the most important part
  23. kick — a thrill
  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