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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. pop — soda
  3. clip — to cut
  4. season — of the year
  5. march — music
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. band — a ring
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. pop — music
  10. can — a tin
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. march — the month
  13. perch — the fish
  14. season — in sport
  15. clip — a video
  16. can — to be able to
  17. staff — employees
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. band — a music group
  20. can — a tin
  21. staff — a stick
  22. clip — for paper
  23. march — the month
  24. pop — to visit

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