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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. march — music
  5. wound — an injury
  6. race — a contest
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. stand — to bear
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. race — the arms race
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. clip — to cut
  15. march — the month
  16. fork — in a road
  17. clip — a video
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. march — the month
  20. fine — high quality
  21. clip — for paper
  22. race — humankind
  23. wound — an injury
  24. fine — all right

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