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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. last — finally
  3. march — the month
  4. scale — in music
  5. net — after costs
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. last — final
  9. last — to go on
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. squash — to crush
  13. kid — child
  14. foot — a measure
  15. kid — to tease
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. date — the fruit
  18. net — in sport
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. march — music
  21. squash — the sport
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. march — the month
  24. scale — size or range

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