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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pop — soda
  4. clip — a video
  5. kid — to tease
  6. clip — to cut
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — the season
  9. current — happening now
  10. current — of water
  11. cap — of ice
  12. clip — for paper
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pop — music
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. march — the month
  17. cap — a hat
  18. march — music
  19. pop — to visit
  20. kid — child
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. current — electric
  24. cap — a lid

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