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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 116 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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — the sport
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. hand — in cards
  7. march — the month
  8. scale — size or range
  9. shower — to wash
  10. cue — a signal
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. scale — in music
  14. rule — government
  15. hand — help
  16. squash — to crush
  17. cue — a hint
  18. last — to go on
  19. rule — a law
  20. shower — rain
  21. last — finally
  22. last — final
  23. cue — for pool
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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