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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. mark — a grade
  3. march — music
  4. dip — to sink
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. land — a country
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wind — moving air
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mark — a trace
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. land — ground
  17. clip — a video
  18. march — the month
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. land — to come down
  21. fork — in a road
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. march — the month

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