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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're on a ________________ here.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. roll — a list
  4. chest — of your body
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. march — music
  7. clip — a video
  8. march — the month
  9. craft — a skill
  10. roll — a cake
  11. clip — for paper
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — a position
  14. chest — a box
  15. craft — boats
  16. fine — high quality
  17. ground — the earth
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. pit — in a race
  21. clip — to cut
  22. fine — all right
  23. march — the month
  24. chest — of your body

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