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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. clip — to cut
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. court — of law
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. clip — for paper
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. court — for sport
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. march — the month
  16. court — of a king
  17. stem — to come from
  18. clip — a video

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