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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. clip — for paper
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. track — to keep track
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. track — a song
  11. craft — a skill
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. craft — boats
  15. clip — a video
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. spring — a coil
  18. clip — to cut
  19. spring — of water
  20. pitch — completely
  21. date — the fruit
  22. spring — the season
  23. track — a path
  24. ruler — for measuring

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