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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. file — a tool
  3. mug — a cup
  4. bound — tied together
  5. staff — employees
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. staff — employees
  9. march — the month
  10. file — a line of people
  11. staff — a stick
  12. spring — of water
  13. mug — a face
  14. wake — a trail
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. bound — certain
  18. spring — the season
  19. bound — obliged
  20. march — the month
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mug — to rob
  23. spring — a coil
  24. file — a document

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