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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. march — music
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. pop — to visit
  5. march — the month
  6. scale — in music
  7. clip — a video
  8. stem — to come from
  9. pop — soda
  10. march — the month
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. clip — for paper
  13. ground — crushed
  14. squash — to crush
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. ground — the earth
  20. pop — music
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. ground — a position
  23. squash — the sport
  24. clip — to cut

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