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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 120 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. can — a tin
  4. rock — a stone
  5. clip — a video
  6. march — the month
  7. bound — certain
  8. swing — to play on
  9. rock — music
  10. can — to be able to
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bound — obliged
  13. root — the cause
  14. root — of a plant
  15. march — the month
  16. court — of a king
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bound — tied together
  19. swing — music
  20. root — of a word
  21. can — a tin
  22. march — music
  23. court — of law
  24. court — for sport

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