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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. clip — a video
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — magic
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. march — the month
  7. mark — a trace
  8. court — for sport
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. court — of a king
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. spell — letters
  14. court — of law
  15. march — music
  16. date — the fruit
  17. clip — to cut
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. clip — for paper
  21. mark — a grade
  22. march — the month
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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