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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. kid — child
  3. chest — a box
  4. clip — a video
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. squash — the sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. clip — to cut
  13. season — in sport
  14. season — of the year
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bulb — for light
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. chest — of your body
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. squash — to crush
  21. mark — a trace
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bulb — for light
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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