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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bound — tied together
  3. march — music
  4. court — of law
  5. rule — a law
  6. march — the month
  7. kid — to tease
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bound — certain
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bound — obliged
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. court — for sport
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rule — government
  22. kid — child
  23. court — of a king
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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