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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. march — the month
  3. squash — the sport
  4. kid — child
  5. club — for dancing
  6. pit — in a race
  7. board — a committee
  8. last — finally
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. kid — to tease
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. club — a group
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. last — final
  15. track — to keep track
  16. track — a song
  17. pit — a hole
  18. club — for golf
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. squash — to crush
  22. board — to get on
  23. track — a path
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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