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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. march — the month
  3. band — a ring
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. key — in music
  8. march — the month
  9. sharp — clever
  10. key — for a lock
  11. kid — child
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. key — the most important part
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. march — music
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. chip — for betting
  22. band — a music group
  23. kid — to tease
  24. chip — to eat

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