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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 120 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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. suit — in cards
  4. suit — clothes
  5. kid — to tease
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. scale — in music
  8. suit — to fit
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. hand — help
  12. kid — child
  13. march — the month
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. land — to come down
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. march — the month
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. land — ground
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. hand — in cards
  24. land — a country

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