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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 116 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. stand — to bear
  3. clip — to cut
  4. mark — a trace
  5. march — the month
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. content — happy
  8. mark — a grade
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. clip — a video
  11. march — music
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. march — the month
  15. content — the amount
  16. clip — for paper
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. perch — the fish

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