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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. capital — money
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. march — the month
  6. deal — to handle
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. march — music
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. bat — the animal
  15. march — the month
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. capital — a city
  18. scale — size or range

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