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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. march — music
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. last — final
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. march — the month
  8. clip — to cut
  9. pit — a hole
  10. stem — to come from
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. last — to go on
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. band — a ring
  15. pit — in a race
  16. press — to push
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. press — newspapers
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. last — finally
  22. press — a publisher
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. march — the month

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