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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. march — music
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. clip — to cut
  5. root — of a word
  6. mug — a cup
  7. march — the month
  8. mug — a face
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. clip — for paper
  11. court — of a king
  12. clip — a video
  13. root — the cause
  14. pit — in a race
  15. march — the month
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. bass — the fish
  18. scale — size or range
  19. court — for sport
  20. scale — in music
  21. mug — to rob
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bass — low music
  24. court — of law

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