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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 120 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. pop — music
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — in sport
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. chest — of your body
  13. firm — steady
  14. firm — decided
  15. pop — soda
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. clip — for paper
  22. firm — a company
  23. mark — a grade
  24. mark — a trace

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