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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — a partner
  5. march — music
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. clip — a video
  10. squash — the sport
  11. march — the month
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — to cut
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. squash — to crush
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. march — the month
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wake — a trail
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. mate — to breed
  23. bark — to shout
  24. trunk — of a car

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