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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — for paper
  5. craft — a skill
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. degree — an amount
  13. march — music
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. degree — temperature
  16. craft — boats
  17. clip — a video
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. roll — a list
  23. roll — a cake
  24. lash — an eyelash

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