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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mug — a face
  3. dip — to sink
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mug — a cup
  6. march — music
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — happy
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. mug — to rob
  11. bat — the animal
  12. sharp — clever
  13. content — the amount
  14. march — the month
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. clip — for paper
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. clip — a video
  24. dip — a sauce

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