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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 ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. march — music
  3. club — a group
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. march — the month
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. club — for golf
  8. capital — a city
  9. scale — in music
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. capital — money
  12. field — a subject
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. field — for sport
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. swing — in golf
  19. field — farmland
  20. scale — size or range
  21. club — for dancing
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — to play on
  24. march — the month

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