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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. firm — a company
  5. land — to come down
  6. file — a tool
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. land — a country
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. march — the month
  12. firm — decided
  13. march — the month
  14. firm — steady
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. rash — a series
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. rash — hasty
  19. file — a line of people
  20. land — ground
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. file — a document
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pitch — completely

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