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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. march — music
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. march — the month
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. swing — to play on
  7. can — to be able to
  8. march — the month
  9. swing — in golf
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. cold — not warm
  12. chip — to eat
  13. can — a tin
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. lie — to recline
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. swing — music
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chip — for betting
  21. cold — an illness
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. can — a tin
  24. wake — a trail

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