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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. pop — music
  3. march — music
  4. charge — electricity
  5. squash — the sport
  6. clip — a video
  7. march — the month
  8. hand — help
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. pop — to visit
  11. charge — a price
  12. charge — in control
  13. clip — to cut
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. rash — hasty
  16. pop — soda
  17. clip — for paper
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. deal — to handle
  21. hand — in cards
  22. squash — to crush
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. march — the month

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