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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rest — what's left
  3. march — the month
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. cold — an illness
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. cold — not warm
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. row — a line
  12. staff — employees
  13. row — to paddle
  14. staff — employees
  15. march — music
  16. rest — a break
  17. rest — what's left
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. chest — a box
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. staff — a stick
  24. mouse — the animal

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