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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. clip — a video
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. clip — for paper
  5. march — the month
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. season — in sport
  10. march — music
  11. bulb — for light
  12. foot — a measure
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. march — the month
  19. kid — child
  20. season — of the year
  21. bulb — for light
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. arm — part of the body

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