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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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Word bank
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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. bound — obliged
  5. spell — a short time
  6. clip — to cut
  7. season — of the year
  8. march — music
  9. bound — tied together
  10. clip — for paper
  11. march — the month
  12. present — the time now
  13. season — in sport
  14. march — the month
  15. bound — certain
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. spell — magic
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. spell — letters
  21. present — a gift
  22. chair — a leader
  23. present — there
  24. clip — a video

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