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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bound — certain
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — to wash
  5. clip — a video
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bulb — for light
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — to cut
  13. march — the month
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — hasty
  21. march — music
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. rash — a series

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