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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 120 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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — a video
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. ground — a position
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. band — a music group
  9. ground — the earth
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mark — a grade
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. ground — crushed
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — in sport
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — help
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. band — a ring
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. clip — for paper

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