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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. bass — low music
  5. clip — for paper
  6. rest — a break
  7. mate — a friend
  8. march — the month
  9. bass — the fish
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. mate — to breed
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — a gift
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. mate — a partner
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. clip — a video
  23. present — there
  24. kick — in football

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