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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. clip — a video
  3. spring — of water
  4. chest — of your body
  5. suit — clothes
  6. march — the month
  7. clip — to cut
  8. suit — in cards
  9. march — the month
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — a coil
  12. fine — all right
  13. chest — a box
  14. pit — in a race
  15. bass — low music
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. clip — for paper
  19. suit — to fit
  20. fine — high quality
  21. bass — the fish
  22. march — music
  23. pit — a hole
  24. bass — the instrument

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