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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. clip — to cut
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. march — the month
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. season — of the year
  8. track — a song
  9. march — music
  10. season — in sport
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. deal — to handle
  17. track — a path
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bark — to shout
  22. track — to keep track
  23. perch — the fish
  24. pass — a permit

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