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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. rest — what's left
  4. can — to be able to
  5. wax — to grow
  6. rest — what's left
  7. can — a tin
  8. clip — a video
  9. wound — an injury
  10. press — a publisher
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. clip — for paper
  13. content — the amount
  14. press — to push
  15. march — the month
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. can — a tin
  18. content — happy
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. clip — to cut
  21. rest — a break
  22. wound — an injury
  23. press — newspapers
  24. march — the month

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