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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. clip — a video
  4. march — the month
  5. saw — the tool
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mark — a grade
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mark — a trace
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the fish
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. march — music
  22. content — happy
  23. content — the amount
  24. temple — side of the head

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