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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · stick · date · mug · hide · kid · jam · march

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. clip — a video
  4. kid — to tease
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. clip — for paper
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. march — the month
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mug — to rob
  16. date — the fruit
  17. march — the month
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. kid — child
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. march — music
  23. mug — a cup
  24. jam — in traffic

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