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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. scale — in music
  4. prune — to trim
  5. kid — to tease
  6. pound — a weight
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. track — a path
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bat — the animal
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. track — a song
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. track — to keep track
  22. scale — size or range
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. bowl — a dish

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