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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. band — a music group
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. chest — of your body
  7. date — the fruit
  8. rule — government
  9. last — final
  10. last — finally
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a ring
  13. mark — a grade
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. mark — a trace
  18. march — the month
  19. last — to go on
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. rule — a law
  22. foot — a measure
  23. march — music
  24. date — on the calendar

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