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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 116 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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. key — in music
  3. file — a tool
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. march — the month
  6. ball — a dance
  7. key — for a lock
  8. prune — to trim
  9. march — the month
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mark — a trace
  12. last — final
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. file — a document
  15. last — to go on
  16. ball — a great time
  17. key — the most important part
  18. last — finally
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. file — a line of people
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. bat — the animal

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