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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. mate — to breed
  3. march — the month
  4. present — there
  5. craft — a skill
  6. last — finally
  7. last — final
  8. clip — for paper
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. mate — a friend
  11. present — a gift
  12. game — wild animals
  13. mate — a partner
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. court — of law
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — for sport
  18. craft — boats
  19. clip — a video
  20. last — to go on
  21. march — music
  22. present — the time now
  23. march — the month
  24. game — a match

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