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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. scale — size or range
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rash — hasty
  5. march — the month
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. march — music
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. spell — letters
  12. rash — a series
  13. prune — to trim
  14. stand — to bear
  15. spell — a short time
  16. march — the month
  17. spell — magic
  18. scale — in 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