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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · sharp · pit · clip · cabinet · land · march · racket

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. march — the month
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. pit — a hole
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. pit — in a race
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. clip — a video
  15. sharp — clever
  16. land — a country
  17. cold — not warm
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. land — ground
  20. clip — for paper
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. land — to come down
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. march — music

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