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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cold — an illness
  3. march — music
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bear — the animal
  8. march — the month
  9. cold — not warm
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. march — the month
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. scale — size or range
  16. club — for golf
  17. club — a group
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. scale — in music
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pitcher — a jug

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