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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 words: he'll be late again.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. march — music
  3. saw — the tool
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bass — low music
  6. clip — to cut
  7. roll — a list
  8. clip — a video
  9. saw — the tool
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pop — soda
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. mark — a grade
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — the fish
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. roll — a cake
  21. pop — music
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. mark — a trace
  24. roll — on a roll

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