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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. content — happy
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. content — the amount
  8. march — the month
  9. chest — a box
  10. mark — a trace
  11. pitch — completely
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. mark — a grade
  14. march — the month
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pitch — a sports field

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