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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rest — a break
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. clip — for paper
  7. march — the month
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. march — the month
  10. scale — in music
  11. rest — what's left
  12. saw — the tool
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. band — a music group
  16. stem — to come from
  17. scale — size or range
  18. saw — the tool
  19. clip — to cut
  20. march — music
  21. band — a ring
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. clip — a video
  24. rest — what's left

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