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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. capital — money
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. march — the month
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bear — the animal
  10. kid — child
  11. clip — for paper
  12. rash — a series
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. capital — a city
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bear — the animal
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. clip — to cut
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. rash — hasty
  22. clip — a video
  23. pass — a permit
  24. arm — a part of something

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