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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. row — to paddle
  3. march — the month
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. club — a group
  7. row — a line
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. march — the month
  10. clip — to cut
  11. cold — an illness
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. can — to be able to
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. club — for golf
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. squash — the sport
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. squash — to crush
  21. can — a tin
  22. cold — not warm
  23. club — for dancing
  24. can — a tin

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