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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. march — music
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. march — the month
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. wound — an injury
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. scale — size or range
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. scale — in music
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. toast — bread
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. wound — an injury
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. rush — hurry
  21. roll — a cake
  22. march — the month
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. roll — a list

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