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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. clip — a video
  3. club — for golf
  4. march — the month
  5. prune — to trim
  6. club — for dancing
  7. race — humankind
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. clip — for paper
  11. mark — a trace
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pass — a permit
  14. march — music
  15. clip — to cut
  16. deal — to handle
  17. race — a contest
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. race — the arms race
  20. mark — a grade
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. march — the month
  24. deal — a big deal

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