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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  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. jam — a tight spot
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. band — a ring
  4. pass — a permit
  5. march — the month
  6. clip — to cut
  7. march — music
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bass — low music
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. rush — hurry
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. bass — the fish
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. march — the month
  20. band — a music group
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. rush — a thrill
  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