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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. march — the month
  5. land — to come down
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. row — a line
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. row — to paddle
  12. saw — the tool
  13. march — music
  14. date — the fruit
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. land — ground
  19. stand — to bear
  20. mark — a grade
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. march — the month
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. land — a country

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