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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. staff — employees
  3. squash — the sport
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. face — to confront
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. prune — to trim
  9. face — to point toward
  10. staff — employees
  11. foot — a measure
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. staff — a stick
  14. cell — a phone
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. rock — music
  20. cell — in biology
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. squash — to crush
  23. rock — a stone
  24. face — part of the head

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