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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 116 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. pop — music
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. content — happy
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pop — soda
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pit — in a race
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. mark — a trace
  15. clip — to cut
  16. stand — to bear
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. content — the amount
  19. clip — a video
  20. tear — to rip
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. tear — from crying
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. mark — a grade

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