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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. chest — of your body
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. cue — a signal
  5. cue — a hint
  6. chest — a box
  7. cue — for pool
  8. ball — a dance
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. race — the arms race
  11. ball — a great time
  12. snap — to click
  13. charge — in control
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. race — humankind
  18. charge — a price
  19. charge — electricity
  20. march — the month
  21. race — a contest
  22. fall — to drop
  23. march — the month
  24. chest — of your body

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