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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. clip — a video
  5. firm — a company
  6. field — farmland
  7. track — to keep track
  8. field — for sport
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. clip — for paper
  11. hand — in cards
  12. clip — to cut
  13. hand — help
  14. firm — decided
  15. march — the month
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. pound — a weight
  19. track — a path
  20. track — a song
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. field — a subject
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. firm — steady

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