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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 116 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. track — a song
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. march — music
  5. clip — a video
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. march — the month
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. land — a country
  12. land — to come down
  13. spring — the season
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. season — of the year
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. spring — of water
  19. land — ground
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. track — to keep track
  22. track — a path
  23. season — in sport
  24. clip — to cut

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