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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. march — the month
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. rule — government
  14. capital — a city
  15. wind — moving air
  16. clip — for paper
  17. rule — a law
  18. rash — hasty
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. rash — a series
  21. capital — money
  22. march — the month
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. rash — on the skin

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