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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 120 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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. cap — of ice
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. fork — in a road
  5. clip — to cut
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. march — music
  10. cap — a lid
  11. mine — for digging
  12. scale — in music
  13. clip — for paper
  14. march — the month
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. clip — a video
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. suit — in cards
  19. cap — a hat
  20. scale — size or range
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. march — the month
  24. suit — to fit

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