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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. clip — a video
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — the fruit
  8. clip — to cut
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. track — a path
  17. track — to keep track
  18. clip — for paper
  19. track — a song
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. march — music
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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