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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. game — a match
  3. march — the month
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. game — wild animals
  8. cell — in biology
  9. pit — in a race
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — in golf
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — the fruit
  15. sharp — clever
  16. cell — a phone
  17. swing — music
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. pit — a hole
  22. march — the month
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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