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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. clip — for paper
  3. rush — hurry
  4. clip — a video
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. spell — a short time
  7. fine — all right
  8. bat — the animal
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. rash — hasty
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. rash — a series
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. spell — letters
  16. clip — to cut
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fine — high quality
  20. spell — magic
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. rush — a thrill

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