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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a trace
  3. clip — a video
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. kid — to tease
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. kid — child
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. lie — to recline
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. mark — a grade
  15. pit — a hole
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. cell — a phone
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. pit — in a race
  23. cell — in biology
  24. clip — to cut

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