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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — hurry
  3. squash — to crush
  4. plane — a tool
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. pit — in a race
  7. clip — a video
  8. march — the month
  9. pit — a hole
  10. track — a path
  11. march — the month
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — to play on
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. clip — to cut
  18. swing — music
  19. clip — for paper
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. squash — the sport
  22. track — to keep track
  23. track — a song
  24. march — music

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