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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · bay · trunk · clip · coach · spell

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. clip — for paper
  8. march — music
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. spell — magic
  12. spell — a short time
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. spell — letters

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