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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. spell — magic
  4. cell — a phone
  5. clip — a video
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — a stick
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — to crush
  10. clip — for paper
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. scale — in music
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. spell — letters
  17. bat — the animal
  18. cell — in biology
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. staff — employees
  22. squash — the sport
  23. scale — size or range
  24. racket — for tennis

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