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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. clip — a video
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. clip — to cut
  7. can — a tin
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. pop — music
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. spring — of water
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pop — soda
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. pop — to visit
  16. craft — boats
  17. bat — the animal
  18. clip — for paper
  19. can — to be able to
  20. craft — a skill
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — the season
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. date — the fruit

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