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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. march — the month
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. capital — money
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. march — the month
  9. scale — in music
  10. roll — a cake
  11. rash — hasty
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. rash — a series
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. march — music
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. capital — a city
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. tear — from crying
  23. scale — size or range
  24. roll — a list

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