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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. drill — a practice
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. chest — a box
  5. march — the month
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. march — music
  10. hand — help
  11. last — final
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. toast — bread
  16. drill — the tool
  17. rock — a stone
  18. wake — a trail
  19. drill — army training
  20. march — the month
  21. rock — music
  22. last — to go on
  23. chest — of your body
  24. last — finally

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