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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. clip — for paper
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. race — a contest
  5. clip — to cut
  6. march — music
  7. date — the fruit
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bass — the fish
  11. ground — crushed
  12. bear — the animal
  13. race — humankind
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. ground — a position
  18. march — the month
  19. clip — a video
  20. race — the arms race
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bass — low music
  23. march — the month
  24. ground — the earth

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