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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. pop — soda
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. pop — music
  6. clip — to cut
  7. scale — in music
  8. ball — a great time
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. chip — to eat
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. ball — a dance
  16. chip — for betting
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. spring — a coil
  19. pop — to visit
  20. spring — the season
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. spring — of water
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. scale — size or range

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