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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 120 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. chest — of your body
  8. prune — to trim
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. chest — of your body
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. chest — a box
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. face — to confront
  16. cold — an illness
  17. face — part of the head
  18. prune — to trim
  19. club — for dancing
  20. club — for golf
  21. kick — in football
  22. face — to point toward
  23. cold — not warm
  24. club — a group

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