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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. mug — to rob
  3. march — the month
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wound — an injury
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. mug — a cup
  8. clip — for paper
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. wound — an injury
  11. net — after costs
  12. row — to paddle
  13. kick — in football
  14. mug — a face
  15. row — a line
  16. clip — a video
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. net — for catching
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. net — in sport
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. march — the month
  24. row — a quarrel

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