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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. march — music
  3. cold — an illness
  4. track — to keep track
  5. capital — money
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. march — the month
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. capital — a city
  10. cold — not warm
  11. key — the most important part
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. swing — to play on
  14. swing — in golf
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. track — a path
  17. swing — music
  18. key — for a lock
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. march — the month
  21. track — a song
  22. rock — music
  23. rock — a stone
  24. arm — part of the body

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