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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. chest — of your body
  3. clip — a video
  4. tube — the underground
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. tube — a container
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. season — in sport
  9. clip — for paper
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. court — for sport
  12. season — of the year
  13. clip — to cut
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. court — of a king
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rush — hurry
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. court — of law
  24. chest — a box

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