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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. cold — an illness
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. toast — bread
  9. mark — a trace
  10. mark — a grade
  11. craft — boats
  12. cell — in biology
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — in cards
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. drill — army training
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. craft — a skill
  20. drill — a practice
  21. cell — a phone
  22. drill — the tool
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. cold — not warm

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