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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. clip — for paper
  3. mark — a trace
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. rush — hurry
  7. pop — soda
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. clip — a video
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. pop — music
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pound — a weight
  19. pop — to visit
  20. bear — the animal
  21. clip — to cut
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mark — a grade

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