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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. cap — a hat
  4. march — music
  5. drill — the tool
  6. march — the month
  7. present — a gift
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. clip — to cut
  10. march — the month
  11. squash — the sport
  12. cap — of ice
  13. present — the time now
  14. club — for golf
  15. club — a group
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. drill — a practice
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. present — there
  20. clip — a video
  21. cap — a lid
  22. squash — to crush
  23. drill — army training
  24. club — for dancing

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