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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 116 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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. track — to keep track
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. track — a song
  9. row — a line
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — a trace
  12. object — to protest
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. object — an aim
  16. track — a path
  17. object — a thing
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. last — finally
  21. capital — a city
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. row — to paddle
  24. capital — money

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