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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. mark — a trace
  4. mine — for digging
  5. clip — a video
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bat — the animal
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — for paper
  13. perch — the fish
  14. rest — what's left
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — the fruit
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. mark — a grade

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