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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: scale · stick · pop · saw · clip · roll · object · march

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. roll — a cake
  3. pop — music
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. clip — a video
  6. saw — the tool
  7. march — the month
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. scale — in music
  10. march — music
  11. object — to protest
  12. scale — size or range
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — soda
  15. object — a thing
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. object — an aim
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. clip — for paper
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. march — the month
  22. clip — to cut
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. roll — a list

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