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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. march — music
  4. bass — the fish
  5. track — to keep track
  6. present — a gift
  7. tear — to rip
  8. track — a song
  9. bass — low music
  10. stock — goods
  11. present — the time now
  12. march — the month
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. track — a path
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. tear — from crying
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — to cut
  20. march — the month
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stock — shares
  23. foot — a measure
  24. clip — a video

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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