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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. clip — for paper
  3. current — of water
  4. current — electric
  5. clip — to cut
  6. track — to keep track
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. pop — to visit
  10. lie — to recline
  11. bass — the fish
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. march — the month
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. current — happening now
  16. clip — a video
  17. wake — a trail
  18. track — a path
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. track — a song
  23. pop — music
  24. bass — low 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