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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. mine — for digging
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. march — the month
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. march — music
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. clip — a video
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. scale — size or range
  13. clip — for paper
  14. scale — in music
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bark — to shout
  19. pit — a hole
  20. pit — in a race
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. clip — to cut
  24. safe — a strongbox

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