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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. scale — size or range
  3. rash — hasty
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. mug — a face
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. mug — to rob
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. march — the month
  13. mug — a cup
  14. march — music
  15. scale — in music
  16. rash — a series
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. march — the month
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. bark — to shout
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. rash — on the skin

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