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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. march — the month
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. rock — music
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. hand — help
  10. drill — army training
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. drill — a practice
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. rock — a stone
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. march — the month
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. drill — the tool
  23. hand — in cards
  24. date — the fruit

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