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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. march — music
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. clip — a video
  5. chip — to eat
  6. can — a tin
  7. cold — an illness
  8. march — the month
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. cap — of ice
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. clip — for paper
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. perch — the fish
  15. can — a tin
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. can — to be able to
  18. march — the month
  19. cap — a hat
  20. clip — to cut
  21. cold — not warm
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. chip — for betting
  24. bowl — to roll

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