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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. march — music
  3. rock — music
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. scale — size or range
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. rock — a stone
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. march — the month
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. toast — bread
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. scale — in music
  22. hand — in cards
  23. march — the month
  24. scale — for weighing

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