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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. club — for dancing
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. clip — to cut
  5. tube — the underground
  6. season — in sport
  7. charge — in control
  8. march — the month
  9. rock — a stone
  10. clip — a video
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. season — of the year
  13. tube — a container
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. rock — music
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. club — a group
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. march — music
  20. charge — electricity
  21. charge — a price
  22. march — the month
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. club — for golf

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