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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. scale — size or range
  4. pop — music
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. tear — from crying
  7. date — the fruit
  8. clip — for paper
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. tear — from crying
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. clip — to cut
  13. foot — a measure
  14. scale — in music
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. pop — soda
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. hand — in cards
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. pop — to visit
  22. clip — a video
  23. tear — to rip
  24. foot — the bottom

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