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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pop — to visit
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — to cut
  8. pop — music
  9. pop — soda
  10. fine — all right
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pitch — completely
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. march — the month
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. rash — a series
  17. march — the month
  18. clip — a video
  19. fine — high quality
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rash — hasty
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. fine — a penalty

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