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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. clip — for paper
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. track — a song
  7. track — to keep track
  8. net — in sport
  9. track — a path
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. clip — a video
  13. spring — the season
  14. march — the month
  15. toast — bread
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. spring — a coil
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. net — for catching
  22. spring — of water
  23. net — after costs
  24. clip — to cut

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