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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. kick — in football
  3. swing — in golf
  4. wake — a trail
  5. capital — a city
  6. march — the month
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. clip — a video
  9. swing — music
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. swing — to play on
  13. lie — to recline
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. clip — for paper
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. capital — money
  21. clip — to cut
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. march — 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