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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. cue — a hint
  5. march — the month
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. scale — in music
  8. wind — moving air
  9. scale — size or range
  10. cue — a signal
  11. game — wild animals
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cue — for pool
  19. wake — a trail
  20. deal — to handle
  21. march — music
  22. game — a match
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. deal — an agreement

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