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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 120 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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. chest — a box
  4. march — the month
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. chest — of your body
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. pass — a permit
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. clip — a video
  13. chest — of your body
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. board — to get on
  17. clip — for paper
  18. march — the month
  19. cold — not warm
  20. board — a committee
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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