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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. sharp — clever
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — the fruit
  5. clip — to cut
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. march — the month
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. march — the month
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. march — music
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. rush — hurry
  19. squash — to crush
  20. shower — rain
  21. clip — a video
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. clip — for paper
  24. shower — to wash

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