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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 120 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. clip — a video
  4. wax — to grow
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. march — music
  9. shower — rain
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. face — part of the head
  13. face — to confront
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. foot — a measure
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. mine — for digging
  18. pitch — completely
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. shower — to wash
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. clip — for paper
  23. face — to point toward
  24. wax — for sculpting

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