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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. season — in sport
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. kick — in football
  7. season — of the year
  8. craft — boats
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. clip — for paper
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. craft — a skill
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. clip — to cut
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. march — the month
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. clip — a video
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. march — music
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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