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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. march — the month
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. clip — to cut
  8. march — the month
  9. clip — a video
  10. cap — a lid
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. stand — to bear
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — of ice
  18. clip — for paper
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. rock — a stone
  21. march — music
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. rock — music
  24. wake — a trail

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