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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. march — the month
  4. press — to push
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. ground — a position
  8. bat — the animal
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — a publisher
  11. clip — to cut
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. band — a music group
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. clip — a video
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. march — the month
  22. snap — to click
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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