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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.

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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. march — music
  3. last — to go on
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. firm — decided
  6. firm — a company
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bulb — for light
  9. last — final
  10. march — the month
  11. bank — for money
  12. perch — the fish
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. last — finally
  15. bulb — for light
  16. march — the month
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bank — for money
  20. clip — to cut
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. clip — a video
  23. bank — of a river
  24. firm — steady

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