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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. clip — to cut
  4. mark — a trace
  5. saw — the tool
  6. clip — a video
  7. season — in sport
  8. fork — in a road
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mark — a grade
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. cue — for pool
  15. mine — for digging
  16. cue — a hint
  17. saw — the tool
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. clip — for paper
  20. cue — a signal
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. season — of the year
  24. mine — belonging to me

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