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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. march — music
  4. wake — a trail
  5. rock — a stone
  6. chest — of your body
  7. club — for golf
  8. scale — in music
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — a tin
  11. club — a group
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — a leader
  18. scale — size or range
  19. chest — of your body
  20. can — to be able to
  21. rock — music
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. chest — a box

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