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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. rest — what's left
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pop — music
  7. mine — for digging
  8. rest — what's left
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. craft — boats
  11. craft — a skill
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. pit — a hole
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. pop — soda
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. pit — in a race
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. stand — to bear
  23. rest — a break
  24. clip — a video

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