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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. club — for dancing
  3. march — the month
  4. fall — the season
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. bat — the animal
  7. march — the month
  8. sharp — clever
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. fall — to drop
  14. club — for golf
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. game — wild animals
  20. march — music
  21. club — a group
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. fall — to drop
  24. leaves — of a tree

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