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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. march — music
  6. clip — to cut
  7. kid — to tease
  8. face — part of the head
  9. drill — the tool
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. clip — for paper
  12. kid — child
  13. band — a ring
  14. face — to point toward
  15. drill — army training
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. face — to confront
  18. band — a music group
  19. march — the month
  20. drill — a practice
  21. clip — a video
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — animal skin

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