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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 120 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. mate — a friend
  3. pop — soda
  4. mate — a partner
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. march — the month
  7. mate — to breed
  8. tube — a container
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tube — the underground
  15. pop — to visit
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — for light
  18. pop — music
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. march — the month
  24. clip — a video

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