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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. pitch — completely
  3. game — a match
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. clip — a video
  9. mark — a grade
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. object — a thing
  12. race — the arms race
  13. object — an aim
  14. mark — a trace
  15. march — the month
  16. object — to protest
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. clip — for paper
  19. race — humankind
  20. game — wild animals
  21. race — a contest
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. march — the month
  24. pitch — a sports field

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