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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. squash — the sport
  3. firm — a company
  4. track — to keep track
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. row — a line
  7. date — the fruit
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. squash — to crush
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. march — the month
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. content — happy
  15. track — a path
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. march — music
  20. content — the amount
  21. firm — steady
  22. firm — decided
  23. track — a song
  24. row — to paddle

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