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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · racket · pit · mouse · present · ball · cold · cap

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. cap — a hat
  3. pit — in a race
  4. clip — a video
  5. present — there
  6. clip — for paper
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. clip — to cut
  9. ball — a dance
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pit — a hole
  14. cold — an illness
  15. present — the time now
  16. cap — a lid
  17. ball — a great time
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. present — a gift
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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