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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. march — the month
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. pound — a weight
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. march — music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. spring — the season
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a ring
  13. spring — a coil
  14. kid — to tease
  15. band — a music group
  16. scale — in music
  17. kid — child
  18. march — the month
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. spring — of water
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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