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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. clip — a video
  4. march — music
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. mark — a trace
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. game — a match
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a grade
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. fall — the season
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. clip — for paper
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. game — wild animals
  23. squash — to crush
  24. squash — the sport

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