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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. clip — to cut
  3. drill — a practice
  4. track — a song
  5. swing — in golf
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. clip — for paper
  8. ball — a dance
  9. track — a path
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. clip — a video
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. track — to keep track
  15. march — music
  16. pass — a permit
  17. march — the month
  18. ball — a great time
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. drill — the tool
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. swing — music
  23. drill — army training
  24. swing — to play on

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