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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. clip — for paper
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. rule — a law
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. roll — a cake
  7. chest — of your body
  8. band — a music group
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. chest — of your body
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. clip — a video
  15. march — music
  16. roll — a list
  17. march — the month
  18. band — a ring
  19. clip — to cut
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rule — government
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. chest — a box
  24. roll — on a roll

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