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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. march — the month
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. clip — for paper
  7. press — newspapers
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. clip — a video
  10. march — music
  11. row — to paddle
  12. clip — to cut
  13. press — a publisher
  14. march — the month
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. row — a line
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. press — to push
  22. saw — the tool
  23. dip — to sink
  24. vault — a safe

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