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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. march — the month
  3. clip — a video
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. tube — a container
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. cold — an illness
  10. can — a tin
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. rush — hurry
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. tube — the underground
  15. clip — to cut
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. cold — not warm
  20. clip — for paper
  21. can — to be able to
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. arm — part of the body

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