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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. march — music
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. chest — of your body
  6. fine — all right
  7. can — a tin
  8. can — a tin
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. press — newspapers
  11. fine — high quality
  12. chest — of your body
  13. clip — a video
  14. march — the month
  15. chest — a box
  16. clip — to cut
  17. can — to be able to
  18. press — to push
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in biology
  21. press — a publisher
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. clip — for paper

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