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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. pitch — completely
  3. last — finally
  4. suit — clothes
  5. spring — the season
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. ball — a dance
  10. last — to go on
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. last — final
  14. suit — to fit
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. spring — of water
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. ball — a great time
  20. suit — in cards
  21. spring — a coil
  22. pound — a weight
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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