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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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. bound — obliged
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bound — certain
  7. march — the month
  8. cue — a signal
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. clip — a video
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. fine — high quality
  16. cue — a hint
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cue — for pool
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. march — music
  21. bound — tied together
  22. clip — to cut
  23. fine — all right
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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