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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  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. clip — for paper
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. march — the month
  7. squash — to crush
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. ball — a great time
  10. march — the month
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. pass — a permit
  13. clip — a video
  14. branch — a division
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. clip — to cut
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. ball — a dance
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. squash — the sport
  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