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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: band · chip · bay · last · clip · march · rest · pop

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. last — to go on
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a ring
  5. chip — to eat
  6. chip — for betting
  7. last — finally
  8. pop — to visit
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pop — soda
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. last — final
  14. clip — a video
  15. rest — what's left
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. rest — what's left
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. rest — a break
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. pop — 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