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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 ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. deal — to handle
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — of ice
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. march — music
  11. roll — a list
  12. mine — for digging
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. cap — a lid
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. roll — a cake
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. clip — a video
  22. wound — an injury
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. wound — an injury

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