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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. clip — a video
  6. game — a match
  7. row — a line
  8. clip — for paper
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. row — to paddle
  12. clip — to cut
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. march — music
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bulb — for light
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. game — wild animals
  22. spring — the season
  23. bulb — for light
  24. safe — out of danger

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