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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bat — the animal
  3. cap — of ice
  4. march — the month
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. march — music
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — help
  13. rule — a law
  14. rule — government
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — to shout
  18. roll — a list
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. scale — in music
  21. roll — a cake
  22. cap — a hat
  23. scale — size or range
  24. cap — a lid

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