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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. clip — a video
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. court — for sport
  5. chip — to eat
  6. mate — to breed
  7. file — a tool
  8. ground — a position
  9. wake — a trail
  10. file — a line of people
  11. ground — crushed
  12. mate — a friend
  13. court — of law
  14. court — of a king
  15. ground — the earth
  16. file — a document
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. clip — to cut
  19. can — a tin
  20. clip — for paper
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — to be able to
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — for betting

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