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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. plane — a tool
  3. staff — a stick
  4. hand — help
  5. march — the month
  6. content — happy
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. staff — employees
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. wake — a trail
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. content — the amount
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — rain
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. staff — employees
  22. hand — in cards
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. march — the month

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