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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: clip · march · last · track · season · squash · ball · can

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — for paper
  3. march — the month
  4. last — final
  5. squash — the sport
  6. track — a song
  7. season — in sport
  8. ball — a dance
  9. squash — to crush
  10. can — to be able to
  11. clip — to cut
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. can — a tin
  15. track — to keep track
  16. march — the month
  17. season — of the year
  18. track — a path
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. last — finally
  21. last — to go on
  22. ball — a great time
  23. march — music
  24. can — a tin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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