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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. suit — in cards
  5. mine — for digging
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. pound — a weight
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. clip — for paper
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. kick — in football
  16. suit — clothes
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. clip — to cut
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. clip — a video
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. rush — hurry
  23. suit — to fit
  24. calf — a young animal

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