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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — of the year
  4. chest — a box
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. clip — a video
  7. can — a tin
  8. court — of law
  9. can — to be able to
  10. rush — hurry
  11. season — in sport
  12. march — the month
  13. chest — of your body
  14. court — for sport
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. court — of a king
  17. clip — for paper
  18. chest — of your body
  19. clip — to cut
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. march — music
  22. vault — a safe
  23. march — the month
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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