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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: rock · mate · pop · stand · clip · rest · mark · march

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. 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. mark — to pay attention
  2. rest — what's left
  3. march — music
  4. pop — to visit
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. mate — a partner
  8. rest — what's left
  9. stand — to bear
  10. march — the month
  11. rest — a break
  12. clip — to cut
  13. mate — a friend
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. mark — a trace
  16. march — the month
  17. rock — music
  18. clip — for paper
  19. pop — soda
  20. rock — a stone
  21. mate — to breed
  22. pop — music
  23. mark — a grade
  24. 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