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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. cap — a lid
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. roll — a list
  5. chest — of your body
  6. mug — a face
  7. clip — a video
  8. mug — a cup
  9. chest — of your body
  10. march — the month
  11. roll — a cake
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. march — the month
  14. clip — to cut
  15. band — a ring
  16. cap — of ice
  17. march — music
  18. band — a music group
  19. cap — a hat
  20. scale — in music
  21. chest — a box
  22. mug — to rob
  23. clip — for paper
  24. scale — size or range

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