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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 116 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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. kid — child
  7. pop — music
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. pop — soda
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. clip — for paper
  14. ball — a dance
  15. march — the month
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. pop — to visit
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. pass — a permit
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. ball — a great time

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