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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. clip — for paper
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. chair — a leader
  10. pound — a weight
  11. roll — a cake
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. land — ground
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. clip — a video
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. land — a country
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. land — to come down
  23. clip — to cut
  24. roll — a list

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