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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. pop — soda
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. tube — a container
  5. bat — the animal
  6. march — music
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. wind — moving air
  11. clip — to cut
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. march — the month
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pop — to visit
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. tube — the underground
  18. march — the month
  19. clip — for paper
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. clip — a video
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. pop — music
  24. wind — moving air

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