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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. clip — a video
  3. drill — army training
  4. can — to be able to
  5. march — music
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bat — the animal
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. march — the month
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. fine — all right
  12. clip — to cut
  13. chair — a leader
  14. clip — for paper
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — the arms race
  17. can — a tin
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. fine — high quality
  20. race — humankind
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — a practice
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. can — a tin

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