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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. pop — to visit
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. pop — soda
  7. craft — boats
  8. cap — a lid
  9. rest — what's left
  10. clip — to cut
  11. rest — a break
  12. mark — a trace
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. mark — a grade
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cap — a hat
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. rest — what's left
  19. craft — a skill
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pop — music

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