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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. scale — in music
  6. clip — for paper
  7. toast — bread
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. clip — a video
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. tube — the underground
  12. wound — an injury
  13. roll — a list
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. rush — hurry
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. clip — to cut
  19. roll — a cake
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. tube — a container
  23. scale — size or range
  24. sharp — clever

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