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

Word bank: march · bowl · present · deal · bear · clip

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. deal — to handle
  3. present — there
  4. march — the month
  5. bear — the animal
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. present — a gift
  8. clip — for paper
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. present — the time now
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bear — the animal
  18. clip — a video

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