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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. clip — a video
  3. foot — a measure
  4. tear — from crying
  5. march — the month
  6. clip — for paper
  7. march — music
  8. pit — in a race
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. squash — to crush
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. clip — to cut
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. squash — the sport
  19. tear — from crying
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. tear — to rip
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. pitcher — a jug

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