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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. wound — an injury
  4. swing — in golf
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. tube — a container
  7. march — music
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. clip — a video
  12. march — the month
  13. degree — from a university
  14. clip — for paper
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. degree — temperature
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — to play on
  19. ball — a dance
  20. pound — a weight
  21. degree — an amount
  22. ball — a great time
  23. tube — the underground
  24. wound — an injury

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