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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. foot — a measure
  3. present — a gift
  4. spell — a short time
  5. rule — a law
  6. march — music
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. band — a ring
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. present — the time now
  13. scale — size or range
  14. spell — letters
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. march — the month
  17. rule — government
  18. scale — in music
  19. present — there
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. spell — magic
  22. snap — to click
  23. band — a music group
  24. march — the month

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