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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. clip — a video
  6. bound — obliged
  7. march — the month
  8. pass — a permit
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. march — the month
  11. bound — tied together
  12. track — to keep track
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. march — music
  16. clip — to cut
  17. track — a song
  18. clip — for paper
  19. track — a path
  20. bound — certain
  21. chest — a box
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pass — to succeed

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