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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. march — the month
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. craft — boats
  6. rule — a law
  7. bound — certain
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. capital — money
  10. bound — tied together
  11. capital — a city
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. chest — a box
  14. craft — a skill
  15. hand — in cards
  16. rule — government
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. hand — help
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. march — music
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bound — obliged
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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