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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a trace
  3. dip — to sink
  4. date — the fruit
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bear — the animal
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bat — the animal
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. clip — for paper
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. sharp — clever
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. clip — a video
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. mark — a grade
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bear — the animal
  24. sharp — exactly

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