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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. date — the fruit
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. drill — army training
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. drill — a practice
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. drill — the tool
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. rash — hasty
  15. hand — in cards
  16. squash — the sport
  17. rash — a series
  18. hand — help
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. clip — to cut
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in biology
  23. clip — for paper
  24. hand — part of the 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