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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. bound — certain
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. bound — tied together
  7. club — for dancing
  8. scale — size or range
  9. club — for golf
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. club — a group
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. march — the month
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. perch — the fish
  20. game — wild animals
  21. scale — in music
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. march — music
  24. bound — obliged

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