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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. club — for golf
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. tear — to rip
  11. clip — to cut
  12. tear — from crying
  13. face — to confront
  14. clip — a video
  15. face — to point toward
  16. scale — in music
  17. face — part of the head
  18. club — for dancing
  19. club — a group
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. march — music
  22. scale — size or range
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. tear — from crying

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