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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  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. bay — to keep at bay
  2. march — music
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. pop — soda
  6. cold — not warm
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. clip — to cut
  10. pop — music
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. clip — a video
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. clip — for paper
  16. march — the month
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — an illness
  22. march — the month
  23. deal — to handle
  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