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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a path
  10. track — a song
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. clip — to cut
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. sharp — clever
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. date — the fruit
  23. rush — hurry
  24. game — a match

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