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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. row — a line
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. hand — in cards
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. mark — a trace
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. march — the month
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. march — the month
  17. mark — a grade
  18. sharp — clever
  19. row — to paddle
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. hand — help
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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