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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wake — a trail
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. march — the month
  7. rash — a series
  8. fine — high quality
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. cap — of ice
  12. rash — hasty
  13. fine — all right
  14. cap — a hat
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. march — music
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. net — after costs
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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