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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pit — in a race
  7. file — a tool
  8. pop — music
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. plane — a tool
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. clip — a video
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. clip — to cut
  15. file — a line of people
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. file — a document
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. pit — a hole
  20. pop — soda
  21. season — of the year
  22. season — in sport
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. bat — the animal

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