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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. squash — to crush
  3. march — music
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cap — a hat
  6. deal — to handle
  7. squash — the sport
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. pass — a permit
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. march — the month
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. clip — a video
  17. scale — size or range
  18. cap — a lid
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. scale — in music
  21. wind — moving air
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. march — the month
  24. deal — an agreement

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