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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. cap — of ice
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. pit — in a race
  6. rush — hurry
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. shower — to wash
  10. cap — a hat
  11. file — a line of people
  12. cap — a lid
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. ball — a dance
  15. file — a tool
  16. march — the month
  17. shower — rain
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. march — the month
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pitch — completely
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. pit — a hole
  24. file — a document

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