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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. perch — the fish
  6. pit — in a race
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pit — a hole
  10. dip — to sink
  11. face — to confront
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. face — part of the head
  14. bat — the animal
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. face — to point toward
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. clip — a video
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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