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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. last — to go on
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. clip — a video
  7. march — the month
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. clip — for paper
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. last — final
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. march — the month
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — to crush
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — size or range
  18. last — finally
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. march — music
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. clip — to cut
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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