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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 124 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — the fruit
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. clip — to cut
  10. pop — soda
  11. field — farmland
  12. clip — a video
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. march — the month
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. field — for sport
  18. clip — for paper
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. pop — music
  21. field — a subject
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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