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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. scale — size or range
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. content — happy
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. clip — a video
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. march — music
  10. wind — moving air
  11. firm — steady
  12. scale — in music
  13. content — the amount
  14. board — to get on
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. pound — a weight
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. clip — to cut
  20. firm — decided
  21. firm — a company
  22. wind — moving air
  23. clip — for paper
  24. board — a committee

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