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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. net — after costs
  5. can — a tin
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. can — a tin
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. can — to be able to
  10. march — the month
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. foot — a measure
  18. net — for catching
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. march — music
  22. lie — to recline
  23. bat — the animal
  24. net — in sport

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