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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. pop — to visit
  3. clip — a video
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. ground — the earth
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — rain
  8. pop — music
  9. pop — soda
  10. march — the month
  11. kick — in football
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. march — the month
  15. can — a tin
  16. shower — to wash
  17. pitch — completely
  18. clip — to cut
  19. march — music
  20. can — a tin
  21. ground — crushed
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. clip — for paper
  24. can — to be able to

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