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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rock — music
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cue — for pool
  5. land — ground
  6. march — the month
  7. ground — a position
  8. cue — a signal
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. fork — in a road
  11. cue — a hint
  12. land — to come down
  13. ground — the earth
  14. clip — a video
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. clip — for paper
  17. rock — a stone
  18. march — music
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. land — a country
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. ground — crushed
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. fork — a garden tool

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