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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. swing — music
  7. rule — government
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. wound — an injury
  12. clip — to cut
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. rule — a law
  20. swing — in golf
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. clip — a video
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. swing — to play on

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