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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 will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. clip — to cut
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. kid — to tease
  5. dip — to sink
  6. cell — in biology
  7. kid — child
  8. cue — for pool
  9. clip — a video
  10. spring — of water
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. march — music
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. clip — for paper
  20. march — the month
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. cue — a signal
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. cue — a hint

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