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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. clip — for paper
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. march — music
  6. drill — a practice
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. clip — to cut
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. clip — a video
  12. pitch — completely
  13. capital — money
  14. march — the month
  15. capital — a city
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mark — a trace
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. drill — the tool
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. drill — army training
  24. patient — a sick person

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