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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. march — music
  4. rock — a stone
  5. club — for golf
  6. season — of the year
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. club — a group
  9. march — the month
  10. mine — for digging
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. clip — to cut
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. season — in sport
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. clip — a video
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. march — the month
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. club — for dancing
  22. clip — for paper
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. rock — 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