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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. rock — a stone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in biology
  11. clip — a video
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. march — music
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fine — all right
  16. march — the month
  17. game — wild animals
  18. march — the month
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. rock — music
  21. fine — high quality
  22. clip — to cut
  23. game — a match
  24. rock — to move gently

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