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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cell — a phone
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. capital — money
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bulb — for light
  7. chest — a box
  8. band — a ring
  9. cell — in biology
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. band — a music group
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bark — to shout
  16. capital — a city
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. charge — a price
  19. charge — in control
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bulb — for light
  23. charge — electricity
  24. chest — of your body

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