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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 120 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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. squash — to crush
  3. clip — a video
  4. band — a ring
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. bound — certain
  8. clip — for paper
  9. pitch — completely
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pit — a hole
  13. bound — tied together
  14. court — for sport
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pit — in a race
  17. tube — a container
  18. court — of law
  19. court — of a king
  20. tube — the underground
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bound — obliged
  23. band — a music group
  24. tube — in a tire

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