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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. clip — to cut
  3. ground — crushed
  4. mark — a trace
  5. ground — a position
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. dip — to sink
  12. ground — the earth
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. row — a line
  15. mark — a grade
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. rash — hasty
  19. ball — a great time
  20. clip — for paper
  21. row — to paddle
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. clip — a video
  24. rash — a series

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