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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pass — a permit
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. clip — for paper
  13. game — wild animals
  14. tube — a container
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. stock — shares
  18. clip — to cut
  19. tube — the underground
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — goods
  22. game — a match
  23. clip — a video
  24. fan — a supporter

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