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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. march — music
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. clip — a video
  5. bear — the animal
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rock — a stone
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. march — the month
  13. clip — to cut
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bear — the animal
  16. march — the month
  17. mine — for digging
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. toast — bread
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. lie — to recline
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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