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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 ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. band — a ring
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. clip — a video
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. fall — to drop
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a music group
  11. wound — an injury
  12. squash — the sport
  13. sharp — clever
  14. march — the month
  15. fall — to drop
  16. key — in music
  17. key — the most important part
  18. clip — to cut
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. wound — an injury
  21. squash — to crush
  22. fall — the season
  23. key — for a lock
  24. clip — for paper

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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