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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. swing — in golf
  3. clip — a video
  4. bass — the fish
  5. mate — to breed
  6. can — to be able to
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. drill — a practice
  9. can — a tin
  10. march — music
  11. swing — music
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — letters
  14. clip — for paper
  15. swing — to play on
  16. mate — a friend
  17. can — a tin
  18. bass — low music
  19. march — the month
  20. mate — a partner
  21. march — the month
  22. drill — the tool
  23. spell — a short time
  24. clip — to cut

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