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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. clip — for paper
  5. cold — not warm
  6. face — to confront
  7. face — to point toward
  8. ground — the earth
  9. charge — in control
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. face — part of the head
  13. charge — a price
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a great time
  17. cold — an illness
  18. snap — to click
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — a position
  22. charge — electricity
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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