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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. swing — music
  3. swing — to play on
  4. ball — a dance
  5. clip — a video
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. ball — a great time
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. fine — high quality
  11. band — a ring
  12. swing — in golf
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. clip — for paper
  15. band — a music group
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. fine — all right
  19. march — the month
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. perch — the fish
  22. wake — a trail
  23. march — music
  24. ball — a round shape

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