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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. pop — soda
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. pop — music
  5. march — the month
  6. drill — the tool
  7. field — a subject
  8. drill — army training
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — for sport
  14. drill — a practice
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. march — the month
  17. clip — to cut
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. clip — for paper
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. march — music
  24. pop — to visit

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