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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bat — the animal
  3. hand — help
  4. march — the month
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. sharp — clever
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. ball — a dance
  11. chip — for betting
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. clip — for paper
  16. hand — in cards
  17. march — the month
  18. clip — a video
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. chip — to eat
  23. clip — to cut
  24. ball — a great time

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