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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. clip — to cut
  4. march — the month
  5. wound — an injury
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. clip — a video
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. clip — for paper
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. march — the month
  16. mug — a face
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. mug — a cup
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. mug — to rob
  22. file — a document
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. chair — a professorship

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