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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. march — the month
  7. mark — a grade
  8. march — the month
  9. clip — a video
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pop — music
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. fine — high quality
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. pop — to visit
  17. chest — a box
  18. pitch — completely
  19. march — music
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. mark — a trace
  22. chest — of your body
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. pop — soda

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