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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. scale — size or range
  3. march — the month
  4. clip — to cut
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. field — farmland
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. clip — a video
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. field — a subject
  12. board — a committee
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. field — for sport
  15. board — to get on
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. clip — for paper
  19. march — music
  20. game — a match
  21. march — the month
  22. mine — for digging
  23. game — wild animals
  24. mine — belonging to me

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