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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 120 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cell — a phone
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. present — a gift
  6. rush — hurry
  7. march — the month
  8. present — there
  9. cell — in biology
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — happy
  12. march — music
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. present — the time now
  18. foot — a measure

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