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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. ball — a dance
  3. clip — a video
  4. object — an aim
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. clip — for paper
  9. season — of the year
  10. clip — to cut
  11. mine — for digging
  12. object — to protest
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. mate — to breed
  16. object — a thing
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. march — the month
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. march — the month
  21. season — in sport
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mate — a partner

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