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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  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. march — music
  2. foot — a measure
  3. ball — a great time
  4. chest — of your body
  5. club — for golf
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — a law
  8. club — a group
  9. ball — a dance
  10. clip — to cut
  11. chest — of your body
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. can — a tin
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. can — a tin
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. rule — government
  18. club — for dancing
  19. march — the month
  20. clip — for paper
  21. can — to be able to
  22. march — the month
  23. chest — a box
  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