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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. lean — to bend
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. clip — to cut
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. stem — to come from
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a music group
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. clip — for paper
  14. band — a ring
  15. snap — to click
  16. wind — moving air
  17. clip — a video
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. march — the month
  21. mark — a trace
  22. lean — thin
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. mark — a grade

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