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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. mark — a trace
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — a match
  6. pit — a hole
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. march — the month
  10. cue — a signal
  11. cue — for pool
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — to shout
  15. cue — a hint
  16. scale — size or range
  17. pit — in a race
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. track — a path
  20. track — a song
  21. track — to keep track
  22. game — wild animals
  23. march — the month
  24. mark — a grade

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