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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. cue — a hint
  3. march — the month
  4. content — happy
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. track — a path
  10. clip — for paper
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. pit — in a race
  13. clip — to cut
  14. content — the amount
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — in cards
  17. clip — a video
  18. cue — for pool
  19. march — the month
  20. track — to keep track
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. track — a song
  23. march — music
  24. cue — a signal

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