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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. sharp — clever
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. wind — moving air
  11. ball — a great time
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. march — music
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. wind — moving air
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. march — the month
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. stock — goods
  21. stock — shares
  22. ball — a dance
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stem — of a plant

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