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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. roll — a cake
  4. march — the month
  5. club — for golf
  6. roll — a list
  7. court — of a king
  8. march — the month
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — to wash
  11. court — for sport
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. court — of law
  14. squash — to crush
  15. march — music
  16. last — final
  17. squash — the sport
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a lid
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — a group
  22. cap — a hat
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. last — finally

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