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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. scale — in music
  3. court — of law
  4. mine — for digging
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ball — a dance
  7. last — finally
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. plane — a tool
  10. fall — to drop
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. march — the month
  15. court — for sport
  16. scale — size or range
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. march — music
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. fall — the season
  21. court — of a king
  22. fall — to drop
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — final

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