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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. can — to be able to
  3. clip — to cut
  4. club — a group
  5. can — a tin
  6. clip — for paper
  7. scale — size or range
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. can — a tin
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. field — a subject
  15. clip — a video
  16. kid — to tease
  17. club — for dancing
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. kid — child
  21. field — farmland
  22. scale — in music
  23. field — for sport
  24. club — for golf

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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