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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. saw — the tool
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bass — the fish
  6. pop — soda
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — low music
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. clip — to cut
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. pop — music
  13. clip — a video
  14. march — the month
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pop — to visit

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