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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — in music
  5. march — music
  6. bark — to shout
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. present — a gift
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. march — the month
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mine — for digging
  20. march — the month
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. present — the time now
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. present — there

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