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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pound — a weight
  3. tube — a container
  4. scale — size or range
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. press — to push
  7. march — the month
  8. roll — a cake
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. press — newspapers
  11. rest — what's left
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. press — a publisher
  17. tube — the underground
  18. scale — in music
  19. rest — what's left
  20. roll — a list
  21. march — music
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. rest — a break

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