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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bound — certain
  4. board — a committee
  5. march — the month
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. scale — size or range
  10. bound — tied together
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. board — to get on
  13. bound — obliged
  14. scale — in music
  15. march — music
  16. stem — to come from
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. swing — music
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — to play on
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. court — of a king
  24. kick — in football

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