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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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. can — a tin
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. fall — the season
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. can — a tin
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for dancing
  13. fall — to drop
  14. cold — an illness
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. fall — to drop
  17. can — to be able to
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. club — for golf
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bass — the fish
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bass — low music
  24. racket — for tennis

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