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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 120 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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. deal — to handle
  3. land — to come down
  4. clip — a video
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. march — the month
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. land — a country
  9. march — music
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. wake — a trail
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. clip — for paper
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. fall — the season
  21. march — the month
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. land — ground
  24. deal — a big deal

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