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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. track — to keep track
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — hasty
  5. march — the month
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pop — soda
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. march — the month
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. clip — for paper
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. pop — to visit
  16. clip — a video
  17. track — a path
  18. track — a song
  19. date — the fruit
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. march — music
  24. pop — music

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