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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. kick — in football
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. spring — the season
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. spring — of water
  7. bark — to shout
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. fine — all right
  12. fine — high quality
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — certain
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. spring — a coil
  20. march — the month
  21. bound — tied together
  22. march — the month
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. fan — a supporter

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