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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 120 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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. clip — for paper
  3. drill — the tool
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. march — the month
  6. drill — army training
  7. spring — a coil
  8. march — the month
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. ball — a dance
  12. band — a music group
  13. suit — to fit
  14. drill — a practice
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. ball — a great time
  19. march — music
  20. bass — the fish
  21. suit — clothes
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a ring
  24. bass — low music

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