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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. march — music
  3. fall — the season
  4. scale — in music
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. march — the month
  7. press — to push
  8. march — the month
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — a publisher
  11. game — wild animals
  12. fall — to drop
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. fall — to drop
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. game — a match

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