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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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 — to cut
  2. club — a group
  3. spell — a short time
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. pop — to visit
  6. rock — a stone
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — letters
  9. march — the month
  10. rock — music
  11. march — the month
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. club — for dancing
  15. content — the amount
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pop — music
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. content — happy
  20. club — for golf
  21. pop — soda
  22. hand — in cards
  23. clip — a video
  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